A flooding expert from Ipswich has shared his most memorable moments from a 50-year career which has led him all over the world.
James Dent, 76, said that from childhood, he was fascinated with the weather. As a child in Rushmere at the time of the North Sea Flood of 1953, he saw firsthand the power water held over the land; in the storm’s aftermath, he remembers seeing trees plastered with seaweed.
However, Mr Dent never imagined he would build a career as a hydrometeorologist. Hydrometeorology, he explained, is the study of the water cycle.
He developed a keen interest in geography, specifically the weather, as a student at Northgate Grammer School for Boys.
“We had a weather station, and each year a geography class would take it in turns to take readings,” he explained. “I loved it – I became familiar with the reports we would get from each branch and office. In those days, weather maps would be published daily.”
Mr Dent went on to study geology and geography at Leicester University, before accepting a role as a research assistant at Queen’s University in Belfast.
He continued training, and in 1974 joined a London-based consultancy firm, which would eventually require him to travel to counties affected by flooding or other water problems.
Nothing could prepare him for his first post overseas, when he was sent to Indonesia in 1976.
At the time, the company that Mr Dent was working for was providing support for a provincial irrigation service in Indonesia, which was in the process of constructing a series of dams. Mr Dent supervised a team, sharing techniques of how to measure and predict the volume of water used in irrigation systems.
Over the years, he would be sent on assignments to 12 different countries, including Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, India, Mozambique and South Africa.
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“Flooding is something that people live with, and they become amazingly well adapted,” Mr Dent said. Counties which have tropical monsoon seasons, he explained, have incredibly fertile soil, but suffer flooding as a consequence. This can sometimes be disastrous.
It was Mr Dent’s job to gather and share as much information as possible, so that countries could prepare for such events.
“In 1970, Bangladesh suffered a tropical cyclone,” he explained. “There was excessive rainfall and extensive sea flooding. Half a million people were killed.
“When I went to Bangladesh a second time in 1988, I was more directly involved in the flood warning system. In that flood, 2000 people were killed, which was still a nasty flood.
“However, two years after that, another flood occurred and less than 100 people were killed. This was all due to having a better warning system and shelters in place.”
Mr Dent has now written his autobiography Water Under the Bridge, which looks back on a childhood spent in Ipswich and the most memorable moments of his 50-year career.
On Tuesday, August 8, he will be at Lavenham Library to give a presentation of the book, and to sign copies.
He hopes that the book might inspire young people who are unsure what to do with their careers.
“I never imagined that I would become a hydrometeorologist and get to travel all over the world,” he said. “I would say to young people, go for it – say yes to opportunities.
“Sometimes they will work out, and sometimes they won’t. But that’s what life is all about.”
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