Northern Ireland

46,000 Northern Ireland properties at risk from river or marine flooding

Heather McLachlan, Regional Director of the National Trust Northern Ireland and David Small, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. Picture by Paul Faith
Heather McLachlan, Regional Director of the National Trust Northern Ireland and David Small, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. Picture by Paul Faith Heather McLachlan, Regional Director of the National Trust Northern Ireland and David Small, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. Picture by Paul Faith

NORTHERN Ireland faces major risks from coastal erosion and marine flooding but "lacks basic information" to deal with them, according to the National Trust.

A report by the charity, which manages 108 miles of coast in the north, reveals that 46,000 properties are at risk from river or marine flooding, while recent stormy winters have had "major impacts on coastal residents".

Climate change and rising sea-levels are leading to flooding and coastal erosion, the report found.

National Trust NI director Heather McLachlan said: "With climate change we are facing into an era of increased pressures upon the coastline including increased storminess and sea level rise".

The charity has called for "a strategic approach to shoreline management" to address the challenges of marine flooding and erosion, saying at present it is "reactive and poorly structured", which will "lead to coastal degradation".

"Northern Ireland has a lack of information on how its coast works - rates of change, sources of coastal material, patterns of sand movement, impact of storms, post-storm recovery - along most of the coastline," the report states.

"Establishing a coastal observatory in Northern Ireland is essential to provide the necessary support for decision-making in the current framework and in any future strategic approach."

It predicts that rising sea-levels will re-shape the north's coastline.

"These changes will affect existing and new infrastructure and will result in more frequent flooding and a general tendency for shorelines to move landwards that will be experienced as erosion," the report states.

The report believes the length of "strategic road network" at risk will increase by 28 per cent.