How and why do the effects of flooding and the responses to it vary?

How and why do the effects of flooding and the responses to it vary? 

The effects of flooding vary according to their size and location. The impact tends to be more severe in poorer countries. Responses are generally more immediate in countries at further stages of development and the attempts made to reduce the effects come from within the affected area or country. In countries at lesser stages of development, attempts made to reduce the effects may be delayed and require international effort. Long term responses are likely to show similar differences as a result of variations in wealth and the ability to afford flood protection measures. 

Flooding in England (2007)

The flooding in many parts of England in June and july 2007 was the most extensive ever experienced. The depth may not have reached the record levels of 1947, but the scale of the areas affected reached a new high. 

Flooding in Hull

• Surface water flooding in hull
• Widespread disruption and damage to more than 7,000 houses and 1,300 businesses in Hull
• River Don burst its banks, flooding Sheffield and Doncaster
• Flooding in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Worcestershire
• Highest official rainfall total was 111mm at Fylingdales (North Yorkshire). Amateur networks recorded similar totals in the Hull area. 
• There were fears that the dam wall at the Ulley Reservoir near Rotherham would burst. 

Flooding in Tewkesbury

• Widespread disruption to the motorway and rail networks
• In the following days the River Severn and tributaries in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire broke banks and flooded surrounding areas. 
• River Thames and its tributaries in Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Surrey flooded. 
• Flooding in Telford, and Wrekin, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Birmingham.
• The highest recorded rainfall was 157.4mm in 48 hours in Worcestershire.