Coastal Zone case studies

Economic:

• Thames Barrier protetcs buildings worth up to £80 billion
• Barrier needs to be replaced in the next 30 to 50 years
• Sea level rise will cause Thames estuary to be at risk of flooding, affecting housing, industry and farmland
• Erosion rates increase which threatens coastal settlements like Overstrand and Happisburgh
• Current sea level defences need stregnthening-costing thousands
• Norfolk Broads is a popular tourist destination worth £5 million to the local economy-is at risk of flooding and if flooded, will lose this massive chunk of the economy 
• Valuable agricultural land (the Fens) is at great risk of flooding 

Social:

• 1953 Floods of East Anglia saw 300 people killed and now people are worried of a reoccurance
• Sea level rise means more coastal erosion so settlements are threatened 
• Valuable agricultural land owned by local farmers are at threat, risking people's livelihoods

Political:

• Low-lying mudflats in Essex are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise
• Areas of salt marsh being squeezed between sea walls and rising sea levels
• Some 22% of East Anglia's salt marsh could be lost by 2050
• Managed retreat is being done in some places-breaching sea walls to allow some areas to be flooded to help ease sea level rise