The 1993 Perth flood (also known as the Great Tay Flood) was caused by the

River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...

, Scotland's longest river, rising to above its normal level, with a flow of . It occurred on 17 January 1993, in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Scotland, after heavy snowfall, from

blizzards A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

experienced six days earlier, had melted. The flood almost broke the record for the height of the Tay's waters ( set in 1814, when it rose above normal). A flood had occurred three years earlier, in February 1990, but the peak flow of the 1993 event was estimated to have been around 30% higher.''The Great Tay Flood of January 1993''
– A. R. Black and J. L. Anderson An estimated of farmland was flooded, along with large-scale damage to residential and commercial properties. Over 1,500 people had to abandon their homes. The mighty Tay - geograph

The flood caused damage amounting to around £10 million. The city installed

flood defences A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

, which were completed in 2001, at a cost of around £25 million.

References

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External links

"Floods North Muirton Perth Scotland"
– YouTube, 2014 River Tay 1990s floods in Europe 1993 floods 1993 disasters in the United Kingdom January 1993 in the United Kingdom Perth, Scotland Natural disasters in Scotland