| Flooding is disastrous no matter where it hits. In some | | | | worse in the long run. |
| parts of the developing world, flooding and its after | | | | |
| effects can cost countless lives and leave thousands | | | | Sandbagging - building a sandbag wall along a river. |
| destitute. And even in the West, when flood waters | | | | Picture NOAA |
| rise it can be calamitous. | | | | Sandbags, quite obviously require sand. But using sand |
| And the after effects of flooding can be just as bad | | | | for traditional sandbags has many effects on the |
| as the flood waters themselves. Drought, famine, | | | | environment. |
| disease and homelessness can all be brought on by | | | | Firstly, traditional sandbags are time consuming to fill |
| flood waters; but there are also hidden effects caused | | | | and require large quantities of sand. For this reason, |
| by flooding, and more importantly by our efforts to | | | | and because flooding is never easily predicted, |
| combat floods. | | | | sandbags are often filled in advance, this means they |
| It is fairly common knowledge that an increase in the | | | | have to transported full. |
| global temperature brought about by climate change | | | | A typical sandbag, when full, weighs several kilos and |
| and the greenhouse effect, brings with it an increase in | | | | transporting them during times of flooding produces |
| the likelihood of flooding. In the UK, flooding has | | | | large amounts of CO2, especially with van loads of |
| increased dramatically in recent years with some | | | | sandbags being transported to flood waters during the |
| areas suffering from the effects of flooding for the | | | | wet months. |
| first time in living memory. | | | | Secondly, sand is a virgin resource. There may be |
| And while there are some grand engineering schemes | | | | plenty of it around but it isn't just sitting around doing |
| to prevent flooding; the majority of flood defences that | | | | nothing. When floods hit the UK, vast amounts of sand |
| are relied upon to curb rising flood waters are ancient | | | | are required to fill sandbags and most of it is dredged |
| methods, used for years. | | | | from the Bristol Channel. This can alter the flow of the |
| Traditional sandbags are still commonly used to halt | | | | river causing untold effects on the local environment |
| flood waters and defend properties from floods – | | | | and water table. And if that wasn't bad enough, this |
| but the effects of using traditional sandbags to defend | | | | dredged virgin resource is then just dumped on to |
| from flooding could actually be making the problem | | | | landfill once it has been used. |