Thames Barrier

Dear all, I saw a documentary about the Thames Barrier yesterday and I would like to share some facts with you. The occurrance of the North sea flood in 1953 was for Great Britain the push to start to develop a new system which would protect London again future floods. Plans were developed soon after this year, although it took until 1974 until work began and until 1982 before the work were completed. TheThames Barrier flood defence closure is triggered when a combination of high tides forecast in the North Sea and high river flows at the tidal limit at Teddington weirindicate that water levels would exceed 4.87 metres in central London.

Surprisingly the barrier closed 119 times from its opening until 2010. It's closed when more space needs to be created for water storage f.e. in case of high tides in combination with floods upstream. I know that computer models play a big role in determining the closure of the barrier. Is there someone who knows more about this topic and who wants to share their opinion? Also it would be interesting to know how long this barrier is still relevant since the risks for flooding are to be increased every year....