Politics

Climate change means flooding of London stations could become regular occurrence, says London Assembly Member Caroline Russell



Climate change means chaotic flooding in London’s rail and Tube stations could become a regular occurrence.

That’s the view of London Assembly Member Caroline Russell, after extreme rainfall saw four central London stations flooded earlier this week.

Ms Russell said Tuesday night’s sudden downpour was typical of climate change and that London’s infrastructure – including its old stations – is not fit to deal with torrential rain.

Earlier this year, Green Party politician Ms Russell published a report – “Climate Change Risks for London” – which found 23 Tube stations are at “significant risk” of flooding in the future, though she said Transport for London (TfL) has not told her which ones.

The flooding at Victoria station on Tuesday (Stephanie Cockroft)

Ms Russell tonight called for TfL and mayor of London Sadiq Khan to share how they plan to get the Underground network ready for climate change and guard against flooding.

Victoria, Liverpool Street, St Paul’s and Moorgate stations were flooded on Tuesday, causing massive delays for thousands of passengers in the evening rush hour.

Massive crowds at Liverpool Street station on Tuesday, after flooding affected rail and Tube services (@Jadelarr/Twitter/PA)

And Ms Russell told the Standard: “This was a serious quantity of rain in a very short time span, something which is typical of climate change.

“The flooding in Liverpool Street was pretty spectacular. We are really keen that TfL and the mayor share more about their preparations.

Caroline Russell (Victoria Jones/PA)

“We are lucky we haven’t had more extreme rainfall, because it will have an impact on everyday Londoners.”

Ms Russell, who was arrested last month during a peaceful protest in central London against Boris Johnson’s planned prorogation of Parliament but released under investigation, went on: “We are seeing it happen all over the world: extreme rainfall is one of the things that happens with a warming climate.

“In London, our drains, guttering and buildings have been designed for rainfall that is not as extreme as the rainfall we are getting these days. That’s why TfL and the mayor have to be properly prepared.”

A spokesman for Mr Khan said: “TfL regularly examine the risk of flooding, what they can do to mitigate it, and other issues that might affect the smooth running of the Tube service.

“Some parts of the Underground network can be impacted by flooding during very heavy rain and when it happens TfL work closely with their engineers to minimise any potential disruption this causes to passengers.”



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.