Shrewsbury in Shropshire (Figure 1) has a population of around 100,000. It lies on a meander of the River Severn, which at approximately 354 km in length from its source in mid-Wales to its estuary at the Bristol Channel is the longest river in the UK. The settlement of Shrewsbury developed here because the meander formed a natural defence for the town. However, as a result, Shrewsbury has been subject to recurrent flooding problems throughout its history.
Shrewsbury’s original town centre lies on high ground within the loop of the river’s meander, but as the town has grown in size, more building has taken place on the low-lying floodplain. As a result, an increasing number of properties have become exposed to flood risk (Figure 2).
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