YORKSHIRE was urged today to prepare for global warming, amid warnings that flood defences will not be enough to save the region.

The Environment Agency said that alternative ways of tackling flooding need to be looked at if Yorkshire communities were to be properly protected.

The warning follows today's publication of the first national report by the agency on climate change, called The Climate Is Changing: Time To Get Ready.

The report highlighted examples of water shortages, flooding, and environmental deterioration which could become more frequent as the climate changed.

It said sea levels around the UK were now about ten centimetres higher than only 15 years ago, and reducing the risk of tidal and river flooding already cost £0.4 billion a year.

It estimated that over the next 80 years, between £22 and £75 billion will have to be spent on building flood defences in England and Wales to meet the demands of climate change.

"In Yorkshire and the North East, around 256,000 properties are considered at risk from flooding - that represents 14 per cent of the national total considered to be at risk," said a spokesman.

Flood defence team leader, Michael Dugher, said: "Tackling flooding is more than just about flood defences. We can't keep on building more walls.

"We need to plan for the future and one way of doing this is to reduce the impact of floods happening in the region."

The strategy aims to:

Reduce flood risk by looking at changes in land use, land management practices and the use of sustainable drainage systems

Encourage residents in risk areas to take effective action to protect themselves and reduce flood damage

Prevent all inappropriate development in the flood plains

Reduce the number of properties within the flood plain exposed to a high risk of flooding

Improve our flood warning service to cover properties in flood risk areas.

Mr Dugher said that in the floods of 2000, some of the largest mobile pumps in the world were brought in from Holland to drain the washlands around Gowdall, East Yorkshire and pump water back into the River Aire.

He said: "In York, the Army was drafted in to protect properties and the Foss Barrier operated well beyond its design capacity."

York MP Hugh Bayley backed the agency's call.

He said: "We have got to think and plan long-term on flooding. We have already pumped out enough pollution to keep changing the climate and increasing the risk of flooding for 30 or 40 years to come. So we need a long-term strategy to cope with flooding when it comes and to reduce the risks, as well as short-term action on flood defences."

Updated: 08:39 Friday, March 18, 2005