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Veteran country music singer Willie Nelson is always up to something new. Read our Willie Watch column to keep up.
Veteran country music singer Willie Nelson is always up to something new. Read our Willie Watch column to keep up.

Extreme Weather
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Boscastle hit by flash floods
• New flood defence system helps save village this time

 Images Images
Boscastle after the 2004 flash floods which destroyed much of the Cornish village: BBC web site
Boscastle after the 2004 flash floods which destroyed much of the Cornish village: BBC web site  


Aerial map showing how the 2004 flash flood occurred at Boscastle: BBC web site. (Double click for larger image).
Aerial map showing how the 2004 flash flood occurred at Boscastle: BBC web site. (Double click for larger image).


Boscastle floods 2007 BBC viewer's photo
Boscastle floods 2007 BBC viewer's photo

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By Lady Tek-ee, contributing editor

Friday, 22 June, 2007

After an unprecedently warm April, June has seen the UK hit by storms and torrential rainfall across the country.

In the flood-prone village of Boscastle on the North Cornish coast, which was swept away by a wall of water in 2004, villagers are mopping up after another deluge. The main road was closed and some shops and properties in the centre were under about 3ft of water after Thursday's torrential downpours.

However, the new flood defence system helped save the village from the fast-flowing water and the higher than usual river levels.

On August 16, 2004 torrential rain caused an estimated 440 million gallons of flood water poured down the river Jordan, through the Cornish village, devastating many buildings and washing vehicles into the harbour and beyond.

Paul Bullard, of the Falmouth Coastguard, said: "Several people have seriously affected properties that had been demolished last time. From a material point of view there is quite a lot of damage to the properties.

"At the moment the level of risk has subsided. There is a lot of clean up to do but there is not a greater level of risk for Boscastle than there was a few days ago."

Some villagers claimed however that culverts and storm drains were not sufficient to cope with the rain that raised water levels to 2ft on Thursday. The Environment Agency launched a £4.5m flood defence scheme in response to the 2004 floods. And it said those defences, still under construction, helped stop more damage.

Shelley Barratt said pipes taking water from the Paradise Stream into Boscastle had not been made larger as part of the improvement works. That meant that they were liable to become blocked, forcing water over the road.

Shopkeeper Peter Dixon said: "The major problem has been surface water from the top of the village and the drains have just not coped with it." Businessman Chris Dawe from Boscastle Gallery - affected by about a foot of water - said there seemed to be insufficient drainage and surface water "had nowhere to go".

Gordon Trapmore, of the Environment Agency, said the problems could have been much worse without their efforts.
"We have spent about £1m on the River Jordan, we plan to spend a total of about £4.5m in Boscastle and that work is almost complete. "That has certainly worked and allowed the flood to pass safely."

Elsewhere in the UK, several streets in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, were deluged with up to 2ft of water after a torrential downpour. Firefighters battled at several spots to stem the floods, which seriously damaged computer equipment at East Ayrshire Council offices and also swamped a Marks & Spencer store.

Around 2,000 homes in the town were also left without power for up to three hours after lightning struck an overhead line during the storm.


The Naked Reader 2007



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