Many coastal towns are preparing to see the biggest tides in half a century this autumn, but there is a reason why residents of one British seaside resort will be checking the tide times more than most in September – the surge will hit before work to repair its flood defences is complete.
In fact, September 30 looks set to see the resort of Morecambe battered by the biggest tide in 50 years, right in the heart of its repair works schedule. Experts are predicting that water levels in the Heysham area will reach levels of 10.79m.
While some residents have already got the tide times on shortcut on their PCs and others have got their sandbags at the ready, Lancaster City Council remains confident that the authority is prepared to cope when the surge hits, and that the town’s promenade will still be over a metre above the predicted tide.
The National Oceanography Centre claims that an extremely slow alteration in the orbit of the moon will cause the extremely high tides that are expected around the 29th and 30th of September.
The NOC announcement came just as preparations are ongoing to start a £10m project to restore the sea wall in Morecambe. In recent days, the Environment Agency gave a flood warning for the area.
Yet, Lancaster City Council Andrew Dobson attempted to allay fears by claiming that it would need the surge to be accompanied by strong westerly winds or those coming from the south west to cause ‘significant impacts’ on Morecambe’s frontage.
The town’s sea wall was originally created after businesses and homes were affected by floods during the 1980s.
The first phase of the planned repairs are due to start soon and should last for around 18 months.
Mr Dobson added that the risk of flooding during the repair works had been considered and the event will be managed ‘properly’ with the help of temporary defences when required.
