The highest tides for 20 years could pose a serious threat to parts of Lynn.
The high tides, linked to the autumn equinox, are expected between September 7 and 13 and October 6 and 11, and are expected to be up to 16ft compared with the average of 11ft.
There are fears that high tides will combine with storms and strong northerly winds, creating a storm surge, and possible flooding to vulnerable areas of Lynn.
This would revive fears of the 1953 floods when a storm surge travelled inland from The Wash along the River Ouse, causing the river to overflow and break its banks.
Water rose to a depth of 6 feet in the town centre, drowning fifteen people and making 2,000 homeless. Another 65 were drowned between Lynn and Hunstanton.
Across East Anglia, a total of 20,000 homes were flooded and 307 people killed. 1800 were killed in the Netherlands. At Wells-next-the-Sea, a 160-ton vessel was left high and dry on the quay.
A similar combination of spring tides and a major storm surge caused parts of the town to flood again in 1978. Fortunately, new warning systems and evacuation plans were successful, and there were no casualties.
Outside the church of St. Margarets in Lynn, embedded in the wall are the high water marks for various flood years: In 1978, 1953, 1883, 1949 and 1961 the waters rose to a memorable height, and the stones show the level the water reached on the church building for those years.
This extract from the book Flood by Richard Doyle, dramatically describes what could happen if another really bad storm surge were to hit the town.
More info:
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
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