‘Climate change a real risk’ says Lincolnshire fire chief amid huge rise in flooding

Lincolnshire’s Chief Fire Officer has warned that the demand for response to flooding incidents has risen in recent years, describing climate change as a “very real risk”, Lincolnshire Live reports

Mark Baxter of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue explained that previously there was an average of about 90 flooding incidents per year. However, this number has increased to 214 between 2019/20 and 2023/24.

A report presented to the public protection & communities scrutiny committee at Lincolnshire County Council on November 12 detailed a general increase in flooding incidents across the county, with “spikes” occurring at various times of the year, including October and January, due to the recent Storms Henk and Babet. Addressing members, Mr Baxter acknowledged that while a map showing all instances from the last five years might suggest hotspots of flooding, the issue actually occurs “pretty much in all areas of the county”.

He also highlighted that the service is increasingly responding by providing advice to residents and communities. Councillor Anton Dani praised the work done by Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue but raised concerns about what the future might hold, specifically referencing the recent floods in Valencia.

More than 200 people died in the floods caused by torrential rain, and 80 people are still missing. Chairman Andrew Key added: “After what we saw on the news in Spain, it just shows that flooding can happen anywhere and, as that map shows, it’s all over the county.”

A map pinpointing all of the flooding related incidents incidents across Lincolnshire between 2019/20 and 2023/24© LCC

Former Lincoln Labour MP Karen Lee stressed the “inescapable” link between climate change and flooding, which Mr Baxter described as a “very real risk” to the fire service in regards to its response. He said : “We were all shocked to see the events that played out in Spain, and there’s going to be an awful lot of learning we will take internationally in regards to not being complacent.

“We will always take the attitude of asking what we can learn from such tragic events happening internationally.”

He added: “When we’re talking about severe weather, we know we are increasingly responding to significant impacts from increased heat and hot, dry weather.”

The fire chief also stressed the importance of providing crews with the right equipment, enabling them to deal with the impacts of climate change.