The 1928 Thames flood was a disastrous flood of the River Thames that affected much of riverside London, England, on 7 January 1928, as well as places further downriver. Fourteen people were drowned in London and thousands were made homeless when flood waters poured over the top of the Thames Embankment and part of the Chelsea Embankment collapsed. It was the last major flood to effect central London and led to the implementation of new flood control measures, culminating in the construction of the Thames Barrier in the 1970s. Look up flood in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Thames (pronounced []) is a river flowing through southern England, in its lower reaches flowing through London into the sea. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... January 7 is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Victoria Embankment, London The Victoria Embankment, previously the Thames Embankment is a road and walkway along the north bank of the River Thames in London in the cities of Westminster and London. ... Chelsea Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and walkway along the north bank of the River Thames in central London. ... The Thames Barrier ( ) is a flood control structure on the River Thames at Woolwich Reach in London. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ...

Causes of the flood

During Christmas 1927, heavy snow fell in the Cotswolds in central England, where the Thames has its source. A sudden thaw occurred on 31 December 1927 and 1 January 1928, followed by unusually heavy rain, doubling the volume of water coming down the river. The sudden rise in water level coincided with a high spring tide and a storm surge caused by a major extratropical cyclone in the North Sea. The storm surge raised the water levels in the Thames Estuary, measured at Southend, to 1.5m (4 ft) above normal.^[1] The Cotswolds is the name given to a range of hills in central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, a hilly area reaching over 300 m or 1000 feet. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The tide is the regular rising and falling of the oceans surface caused by changes in gravitational forces external to the Earth. ... ... A fictitious synoptic chart of an extratropical cyclone affecting the UK & Ireland. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... The Thames Estuary is a large estuary where the River Thames flows into the North Sea. ... Southend is the name of a number of locations: Southend-on-Sea is the name of a town in Essex, UK Southend, Kintyre is the name of a village in Kintyre, Scotland This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the...

The funnelling of the water further up the river caused its level to rise even further. The situation was worsened by capital dredging which had been carried out between 1909 and 1928, deepening the river channel by about 2m (6 ft) to allow deeper-draughted vessels to access the Port of London. This had the side-effect of making it easier for water to access the Thames, increasing the flow on a mean tide by about 4% and raising the tidal range by about 0.7m (2 ft).^[2] Dredging is the process by which either new waterways are created or existing waterways are deepened. ... The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames in London, England. ...

This produced the highest water levels ever recorded in the Thames in London. The flood peaked at about 1.30 a.m. on 7 January when a level of 5.55m (18ft 3in) above the datum line was recorded, nearly a foot higher than the previous record.^[3] Extensive flooding resulted as the river overflowed the Embankments from the City of London and Southwark up to Putney and Hammersmith.^[1] Serious flooding was also reported in Greenwich, Woolwich and other locations further downriver, causing major property damage.^{[4] [5]} Coat of arms The City of London is a small area in Greater London. ... The Borough or Southwark is an area of the London Borough of Southwark situated 1. ... Putney is a district in the London Borough of Wandsworth. ... The Lyric theatre is just one of the arts and entertainment venues that have made Hammersmith a worthy rival to the West End. ... Greenwich (pronounced grenn-itch , or by the locals) is a town, now part of the south eastern urban sprawl of London, on the south bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Greenwich. ... Woolwich is a suburb in south-east London, England in the London Borough of Greenwich, on the south side of the River Thames, though the tiny exclave of North Woolwich (which is now part of the London Borough of Newham) is on the north side of the river. ...

Damage resulting from the flood

A considerable area of the city centre was flooded by this unprecedented combination of events. The most serious incident occurred at Millbank, where a 25m section of the Chelsea Embankment collapsed, sending a wall of water through a generally poor and run-down area. Fourteen people were drowned, unable to escape from the basements in which they were living. Another 4,000 people were made homeless as water filled the streets to a depth of four feet (1.2m).^[1] Elsewhere, the Tate Gallery was flooded to a depth of between five and eight feet (1.5 to 2.8m), causing extensive damage to its collections.^[6] Westminster Hall and the House of Commons were also flooded, as were the London Underground stations and lines along the riverside. The moat at the Tower of London, which had been empty for over 80 years, was refilled by the river, and the Blackwall and Rotherhithe Tunnels were submerged.^[7] The Manchester Guardian described the scene on the morning of 7 January: Millbank is an area of London, England, that is east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. ... The Tate Gallery in the United Kingdom is a network of four galleries: Tate Britain (opened 1897), Tate Liverpool (1988), Tate St Ives (1993), Tate Modern (2000), with a complementary website Tate Online (1998). ... Clock Tower and New Palace Yard from the west The Palace of Westminster, on the banks of the River Thames in Westminster, London, is the home of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, which form the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the British underground transport system. ... The Tower of London, seen from the River Thames, with a view of the water gate called Traitors Gate. ... The Blackwall Tunnel is the name given to a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, linking the London Borough of Greenwich with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ... The Rotherhithe tunnel is a road tunnel crossing beneath the River Thames in east London. ... The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ...

Remarkable scenes were witnessed all along the Embankment. At the Houses of Parliament the water "cataracted" over the parapet into the open space at the foot of Big Ben. The floods penetrated into Old Palace Yard, which shortly after one o'clock was about a foot under water in parts. Flooding was worst at Charing Cross and Waterloo bridges, where the river sweeps round. Water poured over the Embankment, and the road was covered in a depth of several inches. Image File history File links Cquote1. ... This may refer to the: British Houses of Parliament. ... The Clock Tower, colloquially known as Big Ben (a name that correctly refers to the main bell) Big Ben redirects here. ... Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges, seen from the north The Hungerford Bridge runs over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. ... View of the old Waterloo Bridge from Whitehall stairs, John Constable, 18 June 1817 Waterloo Bridge. ... At intervals along the Embankment stood tramcars derelict and deserted. Later attempts were made to tow them through the floods by means of motor-lorries. Taxicabs and motor-cars splashed along the far side of the road. The public subway, Westminster Bridge, was flooded to a depth of four feet. There were miniature waterfalls at Cleopatra's Needle and the Royal Air Force Memorial, and the training ship President floated at street level.[8] Cleopatras Needle (London), with (left) the Victoria Embankment and (right) the River Thames Close up of Cleopatras Needle (London) One of two sphinxes at the base of Cleopatras Needle (London). ... HMS President in the Thames HMS President is an Anchusa class corvette of the Royal Navy, completed in 1918. ...

The flood was short-lived, with the waters subsiding by the end of the day. However, it took considerably longer to drain the many roads, tunnels, basements and cellars that had been inundated.^[9] Image File history File links Cquote2. ...

Consequences

The damage caused by the flood took several years to repair. The most seriously affected area, in Millbank, was largely rebuilt from scratch; the run-down dwellings and warehouses that had characterised the area were so badly damaged that they had to be demolished. They were replaced with modern office blocks and apartment buildings. The current headquarters of MI5, Thames House (designed by Sir Frank Baines, the Principal Architect of the Government's Office of Works), was one of the new buildings constructed in the area in 1929–30.^[10] Current MI5 headquarters in Thames House, London The Security Service, usually called MI5, is the British counter-intelligence and security agency. ... Thames House is an office development in London on the bank of the River Thames adjacent to Lambeth Bridge. ... Sir Frank Baines KCVO CBE FRIBA (1877 - 1933), was at one time the architect heading Her Majestys Office of Works. ... The Ministry of Works was a department of the UK Government formed in 1943 to organise the requisitioning of property for wartime use. ...

A new bridge, Lambeth Bridge, was constructed to replace its dilapidated predecessor and Horseferry Road was widened to afford access to the bridge. The height of the Embankments were raised and the river wall was strengthened along substantial parts of the river. Proposals were made for the construction of a Thames flood barrier but these came to nothing, due to concerns that such a barrier would impede shipping access to the London docks. Lambeth Bridge, seen from Millbank, looking north and downstream Lambeth Bridge from Millbank, facing east towards Lambeth Image:Lambeth. ... Tokyo floodgates to protect from typhoon surges. ...

The flood of January 1928 was the last major flood in the city centre, although the North Sea flood of 1953 came within millimetres of overtopping the Embankment and did flood Bermondsey and some other low-lying parts of the city. Another flood affected the lower Thames in 1959. In response to the threat of such floods happening again, plans were made in the mid-1960s to build a flood barrier on the Thames to guard against the threat of storm surges. By this time, much of London's shipping had moved to Tilbury further downriver, greatly reducing the navigational difficulties that a barrier would present. The Thames Barrier project finally got underway in 1974, with the barrier officially opening in 1984. // The North Sea flood of 1953 and the associated storm combined to create a major natural disaster which affected the coastlines of England and the Netherlands on the night of 31 January 1953 – 1 February 1953. ... Bermondsey is a place in the London Borough of Southwark. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Tilbury is located on the north bank of the River Thames, in the borough of Thurrock in England, at the point where the river suddenly narrows to about 800 yards/740 metres in width. ... The Thames Barrier ( ) is a flood control structure on the River Thames at Woolwich Reach in London. ...

References