The barrier, built in 1982 on the Thames on the eastern side of the capital at Woolwich, was designed to protect 48 sq miles (125 sq km) of central London from flooding caused by tidal surges ...

A Thames Barrier-style tidal defence is being considered in Bristol to prevent future flooding. About 1,000 properties in the city are currently at risk from a tidal surge, according to Bristol ...

By holding back the tide, the barrier creates more space in the river for excess water from upstream to flow down. At low tide, the Thames barrier is then opened and the floodwaters flow to the sea.

Since its opening, the Thames Barrier has protected the capital from tidal and fluvial flooding 221 times. It is also part of a more robust flood protection system that includes walls, embankments ...

The Barrier has survived 15 ship collisions and it played a largely unsung role in the 2012 Jubilee celebrations, taming the tidal Thames into a gigantic lake, safe for the hundreds of small boats ...

The Thames Barrier is operated by the Environment Agency (EA) which receives information on tidal surges from weather satellites, oil rigs, weather ships and coastal stations.

Thames Barrier staff are planning to strike during high tide next month; Engineers & other staff members to walk out over a pay dispute in September; EA released map showing how London could look ...

The Barrier holds the water in the wider reaches of the Thames until tidal conditions are right for its release. Last winter was one of the wettest on record, which mostly accounts for the ...

When the Thames Barrier was being designed in the 1970s, global average sea levels were rising at about 1.8 millimetres a year and global warming was not seen as a threat, but in the past 15 years ...

The barrier, built in 1982 on the Thames on the eastern side of the capital at Woolwich, was designed to protect 48 sq miles (125 sq km) of central London from flooding caused by tidal surges.

A Thames Barrier-style tidal defence is being considered in Bristol to prevent future flooding. About 1,000 properties in the city are currently at risk from a tidal surge, according to Bristol ...