Heavy rain causes flood chaos in Cumbria

Nov 20 2009 by Graeme Whitfield, The Journal

HEAVY rain battered Cumbria overnight as householders were warned of a high risk of flooding.

Worst hit was the village of Shap, which experienced 40mm (1.6in) of rainfall in 12 hours, but forecasters warned there was more to come, with the downpour set to continue in northern England, north-west Wales and western Scotland.

In Cumbria 21 schools were forced to close because of localised flooding, Cumbria County Council said. Among those closed were secondary schools in Coniston, Keswick, Cockermouth and Whitehaven.

The Environment Agency said the towns of Cockermouth, Kendal and Keswick in Cumbria were of most concern. Its Floodline service received more than 7,000 calls from members of the public in 24 hours.

Officials worked through the night in Carlisle in Cumbria to put up temporary flood defences for 400 properties, although the Environment Agency admitted that pockets of the city were still at risk.

Rising waters in Carlisle raised fears that the floods that devastated the city in 2005 could be repeated.

Emergency services in Cumbria were out in force helping those affected by flooding and were advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary.

A multi-agency Gold Group was set up at police HQ in Penrith involving all public agencies which are responding to the incidents. The group is meeting regularly to ensure the safety of the public is maintained during the severe weather conditions.