‘We can’t engineer our way out of this’: how to protect flood-hit Severn Valley

Tens of millions have been spent on human-made defences over the years, but the impact of the climate crisis means flooding is inevitable

When Jo Bloom saw the monitoring station on the River Severn above Shrewsbury register water levels of 6.5 metres as Storm Henk struck in early January, she began preparing for the worst. Bloom, who runs the Bewdley Flood Group, a local initiative to disseminate information to the community, was crouched over her computer checking Environment Agency alerts on river levels as the storm battered southern and central Britain, bringing with it heavy rain on to already saturated ground.

We have had one peak, we are all watching Crew Green gauge above Shrewsbury, which is 10cm off its 2000 record level," she told the flood group.