Flood (novel)
Encyclopedia
- For the film of the same name based on this novel, see Flood (film)Flood (film)Flood is a British disaster film from 2007, directed by Tony Mitchell It features Robert Carlyle, Jessalyn Gilsig, David Suchet and Tom Courtenay, and is based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Richard Doyle.-Synopsis:...
Flood is a 2002 disaster
Disaster
A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment...
thriller novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Richard Doyle
Richard Doyle (author)
Richard Doyle is a British author of thriller novels.Doyle was born in Guernsey and, on his third birthday, was presented at the court of Emperor Haile Selassie. He has lived in Tripoli, Ethiopia, Kuwait, Kenya, Morocco, Libya, Beirut, Barbados, Antigua, France, Greece, Ireland, and the United...
. Set in present day London, the novel depicts a disastrous flood and fire of London, caused by a storm, and the consequential accident at an oil refinery, and failure of the Thames Barrier
Thames Barrier
The Thames Barrier is the world's second-largest movable flood barrier and is located downstream of central London. Its purpose is to prevent London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the sea...
.
Plot summary
In 1953 the East coast of England was stuck by one of the worst storms of the centuryNorth Sea flood of 1953
The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm, that occurred on the night of Saturday 31 January 1953 and morning of 1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland.A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm caused a...
. In response to this, the Thames Flood Barrier
Thames Barrier
The Thames Barrier is the world's second-largest movable flood barrier and is located downstream of central London. Its purpose is to prevent London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the sea...
was opened in 1984, to protect London from the danger. However global warming has resulted in raising sea levels, higher waves and more frequent extreme weather. Londoners have become complacent, thinking that the flood barrier will protect them. The events will prove them wrong.
The Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
is out of the country, leaving Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some counties, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, but is significantly different, though both...
, and Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Venita Maitland in charge. As the danger signs mount up, officials at all levels of the government are reluctant to take the necessary precautions, relying on margins of error, earlier missed predictions and fearing the consequences of an unnecessary evacuation.
With the water levels rising, an accident at a refinery releases vast quantities of fuels. The Thames Barrier is raised, but it proves inadequate to prevent all flooding. As the flood levels rise and the fire grows larger, more and more of London is threatened. A burning ship crashes into the Flood Barrier, and wrecks one of the flood gates, unleashing a tidal wave into central London.
Firefighters and other first responders from all around the country, supplanted by German, French and American military bravely fight against the disaster, but they can only save a fraction of those threatened.
Eventually the saviour of London proves to be the same thing that threatened it, with rain from the storm extinguishing the fire.
Characters
Due to the vignette style, many characters are unnamed, and only appear in single vignettes. However, many characters are recurring throughout the book.- Venita Maitland: Home Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister - With the prime minister on a visit to Australia, Maitland is the most senior politician available.
- Roland Raikes: Secretary to the Civil Contingencies Committee. The civil servant charged with organizing the response to any emergency.
- Angus Walsh: Engineer in charge of operating the Thames Flood Barrier.
- Lauren Khan: Journalist for the Daily Telegraph.
- Claire Panton: A teacher supervising her school's trip to the Dome.
- Paul Suter: A repair gang leader on the London Underground.
- Melanie Sykes: Junior doctor at St Thomas's Hospital.
- Ted Turner: Captain of the Jen-0 Tug & Fireboat, escorting a VLCC to dock at the Coryton RefineryCoryton RefineryCoryton Refinery is an oil refinery in Essex, England, situated on the estuary of the River Thames some from the centre of London.The refinery is located between Shell Haven Creek and Hole Haven Creek, which separates Canvey Island from the mainland....
. - Sophie de Salis: A banker with an office in Canary WharfCanary WharfCanary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
. - Chrissie de Salis: 12 year old daughter of Sophie de Salis.
- Jo Binney: Friend of Chrissie de Salis.
- Harriet Binney: Mother of Jo Binney.