Boxing Day flooding 2015

[Dec66]

The government hasn't been standing idly by... Ooh no.

Firstly, Mr. Cameron is on his way up there now, with hi-viz, hard hat and waders, ready to do some serious pointing at things and looking concerned for the television cameras before blaming "unprecedented weather events" (which happen all the time), promising the Army will sort everything out (despite having no equipment or sandbags), and urging the insurance companies to pay out. Oh, and flood defence will be "reviewed" (ie kicked in the long grass with fingers crossed).

The weather events are so "unprecedented", in fact, that they've already named the next storm "Frank". It'll be along tomorrow into Wednesday. Mr. Cameron obviously would love to stay up North and help out, but he has a prior appointment with the Witney Hunt, riding one of Charlie Brooks's nags.

Please, please, please try to stay safe up there, because the response of your government leaves much to be desired.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Just on the causes, these are not 'normal' but nor were they unforeseeable. Yes, floods like this have happened before but 'once in a generation' floods are now happening twice a year (and it will be more frequently). The causes of the increased rainfall are probably related to a combination of climate change and the cyclical El Nino phase which has just started. That's one thing, but the reason why such rainfall causes flooding isn't so simple. However a lot of it has to do with bad land mangement, particularly the use of uplands for game shooting and sheep farming, as well as the over management of rivers further downstream and building on floodplains.

The best thing to do would be to rewild the uplands: reforest the moors with native species, reintroduce the animals that should be there, and adapt farming accordingly. This has many barriers not least the fact that most of our uplands are owned by very rich landowners who want to shoot things, and that we have become culturally conditioned over hundreds of years to regard the denuded moors as 'beautiful' rather than bleak and deforested. Frankly, these estates should be seized and the owners turfed out, in fact that should have happened years ago... Downstream, space should be given for rivers in their flood plains, and development in thoses areas should be limited and constructed using Dutch-style techniques. We have to adapt to the new reality since we created it by failing so miserably to adapt to the previous one.

In the meantime, I hope everyone is safe, including my friends in Hebden Bridge.

 

[Hyslop]

Photos on HEBWEB of local flooding.

Note the comments about current planning applications and flood risk .. Somebody told me a few weeks ago that a landowner planned to bridge one of the rivers and build several houses there. I laughed it off and said that would be madness - surely the council would not give planning permission ...?

Just viewed the pictures Colin,its so sad to see such scenes repeated yet again,this time elsewhere in the North.We shall certainly be thimking of you all in Hebden Bridge and all the many other areas affected come Wednesday,and hope that the weather causes no further problems for you all.Stay safe.

 

[vernon]

The main shop part of Woodrup Cycles has escaped major damage - most of the stock was sufficiently high off the floor to escape the waters

The cellar wasn't so lucky...

Three of the staff and a volunteer clean up crew

 

[summerdays]

Any idea where they work on building bikes @vernon ? I was imagining that they had lost those bikes that they were working on, but hopefully not?

 

[midlife]

The actual workshop is upstairs iirc

Shaun

 

[stephec]

Our Street yesterday , and the main street up to work in Littleborough , luckily we were ok
View attachment 114072 View attachment 114073

Is the bottom picture looking up towards Whitelees Road where McCormicks is?

 

[vernon]

Any idea where they work on building bikes @vernon ? I was imagining that they had lost those bikes that they were working on, but hopefully not?

The frame building and most of the spare bike stock is upstairs. There's little apparent damage to stock on the ground floor but I don't know what they keep in the basement over and above tyres and inner tubes.

 

[summerdays]

The frame building and most of the spare bike stock is upstairs. There's little apparent damage to stock on the ground floor but I don't know what they keep in the basement over and above tyres and inner tubes.

Somehow stuff you can buy in packets and hopefully easily replaced by insurance doesn't seem as important as something that you have created, through hours of your own labour. So I'd rather it was tubes etc in the basement than something important.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

Is the bottom picture looking up towards Whitelees Road where McCormicks is?

No its Todmorden Road , from the centre of littleborough next to the church

 

[stephec]

No its Todmorden Road , from the centre of littleborough next to the church

Is that turn right out of the station and first left after the bridge?

 

[DiddlyDodds]

Is that turn right out of the station and first left after the bridge?

Right out of the station , and left at the lights just before the train viaduct

 

[stephec]

Right out of the station , and left at the lights just before the train viaduct

Is it the canal overflowing?

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I just got a text from @dan_bo asking if I am ok, which was nice of him. I told him that I am visiting my family in Coventry for Christmas but that my home *should* be safe.

For reasons which will be explained a later date, I am no longer living in Hebden Bridge. I moved a few miles down the road to Todmorden earlier this year. Unfortunately, Tod is also at risk of flooding and I think there will be flooding there today too. My new home is about 4 feet above the normal flood line, but I just looked at the environment agency warnings and my street *is* inside the area at risk. That implies that the agency thinks that flood waters might become deeper than 5 or 6 feet in the valley bottom, which would be horrendous for property owners there.

I have friends still living in Hebden Bridge who are also away until the NY. We think their homes might be affected so we are getting other friends to go and check.

Pretty grim all round. My thoughts are with all those affected, in Calderdale, Cumbria, and anywhere else.

From a purely selfish point of view, I could really do without coming back to a flood-damaged house. I had big plans for my 60th birthday and beyond. Still, what is, is, and I will deal with it when I get home.

PS It is nice of you all to ask after me. My sister just asked who I am typing this message to so I explained about the forum. She sends 'Likes' to all of you!

Nice to hear you're safe and well @ColinJ, we've been seeing bits and pieces about the flooding whilst we've been away, but it was only when we got back today that we saw the full extent of it, hopefully you won't be to badly affected by it.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Why are they giving these storms names? The latest one on the horizon has been named Frank. It's not as if we'll look back in years and say "Oh yes i remember when storm Frank happened"! A storm is a storm, it doesn't have to have a stupid name attached, giving it some kind of friendliness about it! I bet those affected by the last one could call it something a bit stronger than Eva!