http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/science/carlisle-england-climate-change-flooding.html 2016-09-12 14:24:10 Welcome to Carlisle, the British City With a Climate Change Bull’s-Eye The city was flooded in 2005, and again four years later. And again in December. In the northwest corner of England, global warming is not a distant threat. === CARLISLE, England — After this ancient fortress city was hit by a But it happened again four years later. And again last winter, when Storm Desmond brought “I really felt like we were in danger of death,” said Jonathan Bryant, who scrambled out of his car — helping his wife, Diane, their two children and a cat — after they were hit by a wall of water and had to wade a quarter-mile back to their house, through rushing torrents, pelting rain and 60-mile-per-hour wind in the pitch black. In many places, the threat of About 2,000 houses and 500 businesses were damaged or destroyed in the flooding, and by July, thousands of people still were not able to return to their homes. Some of the city’s schools were flooded, and one of the biggest employers here, a McVitie’s biscuit factory, closed for four months after taking on, by one estimate, Residents worry that the factory will close for good if it is flooded again. And their fears may not be misplaced. Over the last decade, the city has had to rebuild parts of itself three times. Because many of the buildings and some of the infrastructure date to the Scientists have estimated that climate change has “What we had in Carlisle — frequent series of storms and superstorms — are exactly what you would expect in a globally warming climate,” said Colin Thorne, a river scientist at the University of Nottingham. “So we shouldn’t be surprised that it happened.” “Figuring out how to deal with storms and flooding cities is going to have to happen all over the world,” he added. This working-class city is particularly vulnerable because it was rainy to begin with, and it also sits at the meeting of three rivers, with many homes built on flood plains. Carlisle has tried a number of solutions. After the 2005 floods, the government raised and extended flood walls, and in some places planted willow trees to slow the water flow and stabilize the banks. But now, dozens of residents, furious and discouraged with their circumstances, have banded together to wrest control of their flood defenses from the government. They recently proposed that a new independent authority of experts, residents and government officials manage the rivers and watershed area. They’ve argued for dredging the river in some places, raising bridges and looking to the Netherlands for ideas. Government environmental officials said they understood the residents’ frustration, but also contended that there was no way to eliminate every risk or protect against every flood. A major issue is cost. The national Daniel Johns, the head of adaptation for the “Flood defenses will only ever provide a limited and now diminishing standard of protection,” Mr. Johns said. Some flood victims say they wonder if it makes sense to live in Carlisle anymore, given the relentless flooding. “I don’t want to go back,” said Christine McBride, a longtime Carlisle resident who is living in a rented apartment while her home is being repaired. “But I will be going back,” she added. “I have to.” She put her home on the market, but recently took it off because the flood risk made it a tough sell. Ms. McBride’s home was also flooded in 2005, she said, and she thought that government officials were being overly cautious when they told her to evacuate in December. When the water started bubbling into her home, her son urged her to leave. “People who have not been flooded think it’s nice to get all new things, but it’s not, and I do not sleep properly always thinking what to sort out next,” she said. At a pub here, residents say they would like to get on with their lives, but are having trouble doing so. The pub, which reopened recently after flood repairs, is on Many displaced residents said they still felt depressed and discouraged about spending another night in a rental home. Several insurance companies sent some families to stay at the Crown & Mitre Hotel in the center of the city. Eight months later, some victims still live there. Others are living in rented homes, or have moved away to stay with relatives. The Bryants have moved three times since December, and have settled in a house more than 300 feet above sea level. They will not be moving back into their flood-damaged home just outside the city. Earlier this month, the Bryants went to have a look, the first time they had been back in several months. The floors were damp; the walls were stripped back to their concrete; electrical wires hung from the ceiling. It felt abandoned. As Ms. Bryant stood in what had once been her kitchen, her eyes filled with tears. “You do get emotional coming back here,” she said. “They come back, all the memories, everything that was lost.” She wiped her eyes and said, with a laugh, “Well, let’s get on with it.”