In deep water? Mapping the impacts of flooding in the UK since 2007

This report presents the results of analysis which collates information on the impacts of flooding and related hazards in communities, public services, infrastructure and businesses in the UK since 2007 from newspaper articles using a form of artificial intelligence called Natural Language Processing (NPL). It has extracted information on flood events from approximately 7,800 relevant newspaper articles from over 60 local, regional, and national news site.

Results from this analysis are presented for the following public services, infrastructure types and business sectors: emergency services, health services, education, social care, local government services, transport, water and sewerage, energy, information and communications technology, shops and other town centre businesses, farming, leisure, and manufacturing and industrial estates. In particular, the analysis reveals that the UK has an urban drainage problem, affecting communities in all parts of the UK during heavy rainfall. Sewerafe capacity problems are also evident in many local newspaper articles.