If you visit many of the locks on the Thames you will see that some of the lock keepers or somebody from the Environmental Agency has erected plaques to show flood marks over the years and at Culham lock there are three such marks. There were large floods at this lock in 1875, 1894 and 1947.
Floods are natural events. They mainly happen when the river catchment, (that is the area of land that feeds water into the river and the streams that flow into the main river) receives greater than usual amounts of water (for example through rainfall or melting snow). The river cannot cope and this extra water causes the level of the water in the river to rise and a flood to take place. This flooding may take place at any point along the river course and not necessarily at the place where the extra water has entered.
So why can’t we manage floods in the 21st century. Well we have predicted computer models to simulate rainfall and rain fall patterns but God in his wisdom doesn’t make it that simple and gives us no warnings and in the words of Forest Gump ”Life’s like one big rain cloud, just don’t just know how much you’re gonna get next”
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