Storm watch (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Storm watch

STORMCHASERS are using jet skis and quad bikes to help predict bad weather and beef-up flood defences.

Hundreds of UK homes are at risk of flooding each time a storm hits our shores.

Now a group of scientists handed a £477,773 grant from Swindon-based Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council are nearing the end of a two-year project designed to understand better destructive weather.

Scientists hope local authorities in land-locked areas will be able to use the findings of the project called Breaking the Waves to get inspiration for their own flood defences.

Last weekend flash floods brought chaos to North Yorkshire.

Some experts blame global warming and they say we can expect more extreme weather.

Academics from the University of East Anglia and the University of Liverpool have been collecting beach samples in order to build up a profile of coastlines most at risk of flooding.

Quad bikes fitted with satellite location systems and jet skis - fitted with depth finders are being used to produce detailed drawings.

Scientists are also looking at the effectiveness of breakwaters piles of rocks placed just off the coast in guarding against flooding.

The research is concentrated in the south of England, which is gradually sinking at a rate of 1mm every year.

Natasha Richardson, spokeswoman for EPRSC, said: "The group needed to take measurements on a rapid-response basis, dashing out just before a storm was forecast.

"To do this, the researchers used quad bikes and jet skis. They were then able to rush out and measure how much sand had been moved around by a storm. This in turn helped them to ascertain which areas had been left most vulnerable."

Prof Brian O'Connor, of Liver-pool University, said: "There is no doubt that global warming is a fact.

"We are likely to see more and more storms in the future.

"As our climate gets warmer more water is evaporated from the oceans, bringing the possibility of flash floods.

"All scientists are arguing about is how severe future storms will be."

Field team project leader Prof Chris Vincent, of the University of East Anglia, added: "Houses and even entire towns could be lost forever if measures are not taken now to ensure their survival.

"We wanted to measure how much sand was moved around by each storm and where the most vulnerable places were."

The work has led to a computer model of how winter storms are likely to affect the coastline in the future.

Kevin Shoesmith