Motorists stranded, homes flooded, roads closed as rains hit Plymouth
PLYMOUTH is bracing itself for further downpours as it counts the cost of a weekend during which it was the wettest city in the UK.
More than 20mm of rain fell in a six-hour period on Saturday leaving shops and homes flooded and people stranded in their cars.
In South East Cornwall a woman died after falling into a river swollen by heavy rain.
Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park tie against Barnsley was abandoned mid-match, as were dozens of other local football and rugby clashes.
A further 6mm fell yesterday – and there’s more wet weather to come, forecasters have warned.
Robin Downton, of the Met Office, said that today would be dry before a frost during the night – but the rain is expected to return on Tuesday afternoon.
He said that Wednesday through to Saturday is expected to be ‘unsettled’, with ‘showers and longer spells of rain’.
On Saturday at about 8pm, Paula Deacon, aged 58, fell into the river at Hessenford, near Seaton in South East Cornwall.
She was with her husband as they crossed the Seaton river next to the Copley Arms pub.
Witnesses reported that after crossing the footbridge, she slipped and fell down the riverbank into the water.
Police officers, firefighters, coastguards and a rescue helicopter were tasked to search for Mrs Deacon. A police dog handler dragged her from the water further down the river and carried out resuscitation. She was taken to Derriford Hospital but was pronounced dead.
Her husband, Rod, said the couple had left the pub and were walking home. He said: “We were having a couple of beers in the pub. We were walking home. She slipped on the way back and fell into the river.”
Villagers in the close-knit community were yesterday too upset to talk about the tragedy.
Saturday’s conditions pushed Plymouth’s firefighters to the limit. Due to the dozens of flooding reports, retained fire crews had to be drafted in from Yelverton, Bere Alston, Ivybridge and Tavistock.
While city firefighters admit that the level of rainfall was ‘unusual’ in such a short space of time, they blame blocked drains for the number of incidents.
Shop owners in Hyde Park also criticised Plymouth City Council for not clearing drains they had reported blocked. About eight shops in Hyde Park were flooded.
Due to flood damage, Anne Cooper, shop manager at the Plymouth and Cornwall Cancer Fund charity shop, said it would be closed for around three weeks.
She said: “The water came in so quickly it was frightening.
“It was a foot deep outside the shop and it was coming in like a river. The carpet has had to be pulled up and the electrics have gone.
“Fortunately we were able to move much of the stock so it didn’t get ruined. It has hit our charity effort no end.”
Dawn Kent, sales assistant at Hyde Park’s Thresher store, added: “I complained about the drains last Wednesday and heard nothing.
“We’re always getting flooded here. It’s not good enough.
“We emptied 15 buckets of muddy water from the shop.
“I have worked here for 10 years and this was the worst I have seen it.”
Richard House, white watch manager at Plympton fire station, said: “There was heavy rainfall but the problem was caused largely by blocked drains. It created chaos.
“It was not the only reason but it was the most common.”
Mr House said Saturday afternoon’s downpours were some of the worst he had seen.
He added: “It was one of the worst periods I have seen for the numbers of incidents going on at the same time.
“We were on our way to jobs and crews from other stations were passing us to go to others.
“It was unusually heavy rainfall.”
A Plymouth City Council spokesman said: “The weather conditions over the weekend were exceptional and some drains were simply overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water.”
Three people had to be rescued from two cars by firefighters in Paradise Road, Devonport after getting stuck in flood water.
In Venton, Sparkwell, firefighters improvised a boat using a triple extension ladder and salvage sheets to rescue a man whose van became stuck in one metre of flood water.
Firefighters found him stranded on the roof of the van.
Two homes in Wellhay Close, Elburton, were also flooded as well as a home in New Park Road, Lee Mill and four lower ground floor basement flats in Connaught Avenue, Mutley.
Water also had to be pumped from a pub’s cellar in Octagon Street, Stonehouse.
In Millbridge, Stoke, a 30m by 10m area of Fellowes Place was affected by flooding. In places the water was 18 inches deep.
Scaffolding also had to be secured at a property in Whitleigh Green with high winds threatening to blown the structure apart.
Traffic was brought to a standstill on Embankment Road and Gydnia Way as water covered both lanes.
John Hutchinson, forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: “In between noon and 6pm on Saturday, Plymouth was the wettest place in the whole of the UK. Up to 20mm of rainfall was recorded in the city, which was the largest amount of rainfall recorded in the country for that period of time.
“It is no surprise that areas flooded in Plymouth and surrounding areas.
“The ground is already quite saturated due to prolonged periods of rainfall in recent days.
These pictures were uploaded to iHerald by HiddenPlymouth on Saturday night. Upload your own at iHerald.
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68 Comments
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by Not amused, Fellowes Place
Monday, November 30 2009, 10:27PM
“To everyone who says tis rain is not a big deal, it is when you have 5 foot of rain at your front door, with water going under your door, through windows, through the letter box!! All of which were closed and locked. I have had to get rid of all my carpets, my sofa, most of my clothes, most of my furniture. You could say I have lost everything in this so called "pathetic" or "little bit of rain". Those of you who watch the local news would have my front door as part of the story. This is not pathetic to me so please think about other people before you write such stupid comments.”
by Lee, Lewdown
Monday, November 30 2009, 9:29PM
“I read some mention that it is not global warming causing this and is only the earth's natural cycle. You are partially correct, the fluctuation in temperature is still within the natural barriers of change, though what you haven't accounted for is the amount of polution that has been pumped into the atmosphere so where you would imagine i to level out and stablise this isn't the case. Unless specifics are done to reduce the production of these greenhouse gases it will continue to rise.
On the bright side, if you look at cycles we are due to be heading into an iceage though global warming is prolonging this for the time being.!
Either way you look at it be it global warming or naural cycles we are due a massive climate change and will humans survive? This depends on food supplies etc and with the over populated world and extremely high food demand I can only see one answer, war and the population going into huge decline through this and famine.
Sorry to be morbid, at least Argyle got out of jail on Saturday!”
by fed up, compton
Monday, November 30 2009, 8:01PM
“i spent three and a half hours on saturday trying to stop my property and others being flooded. This is despite telling the council over a month a go that the area was flooding on a regular basis. Now we have one house on our street flooded and others that have received damage. The council looked at our drains two weeks ago and reported a blockage in there and just put it on the todo list.i for one think that the head of the highway dept. should be sacked immediately and replaced with someone who cares. Our drains still have not been done [monday] and have been told that we can not have any sandbags to help us. third world country comes to mind”
by GR, Plymouth.
Monday, November 30 2009, 5:44PM
“The rain didn't just cause flooding, it also caused trees to uproot and rall over, one, right onto my sons property. The amount of damage it has done to his garden, smashed a huge shed into the ground and all that was in it . Luckily the branches stopped short of the house wall by 18 inches and no one was injured. But it was mighty scary. Theres now a lot of clearing up to do.
The Emercency tree surgeons spent all day Sunday dealing with the tree, and another team were meant to come today, but no one turned up...... Rather annoyed about that, as time was taken off from work to allow the workmen onto the property who were meant to arrive at 8.a.m. then a phone call to say they would be there at lunch time, then another phone call mid afternoon to say they wouldn't be there at all. This is the council we are talking about here, as it was one of their trees. Now more time has to be taken off from work to deal with the issue. Unpaid leave too.”
by the Cynic, Plymouth
Monday, November 30 2009, 4:36PM
“spoke to a clever scientist ,he told me that there was no concrete evidence that global warming was man made.It was quite possible that the earth was going through a cycle.
That being the case ,I asked him w
Still it does hy the Government didn.t do something about it.I wasn't suprised by his answer,he said the Governments had dug too deep a hole for themselves,and were making too much money from the green taxes.
Still it does give the the holier than thou brigade something to rally behind.”
by homeowner 2, In the here and now
Monday, November 30 2009, 4:00PM
“homeowner............like you I believe it's just the earths natural cyclei”
by homeowner, plymouth
Monday, November 30 2009, 2:51PM
“i dont know who`ll be more annoying in about 15 years time when the temperature stabilises and cools; the government, for saying that it was their policies that worked, or those who think this is just part of the natural cycle and that it was all a con by the government to increase taxes (& i`m one of them !)”
by anon3, plymouth
Monday, November 30 2009, 1:48PM
“20mm of water well that equates to 2 cm hardly devestating”
by rach, plymouth
Monday, November 30 2009, 1:39PM
“Thank you ken its nice to have a more educated theory than co2 caused by cars and cows!!!! people dont see historic events that help shape things to what they are today.and when krakatoa jr goes off like you say it will cool things even more so there will be no need to worry again will there,hows that for the opinion of a 26yo!”
by Ken, Saltash Passage
Monday, November 30 2009, 1:24PM
“Yes you are right Rach Krakatoa erupted in 1883 it was heard exploding around two thirds of the world, it is just West of Java, the eruption blew the island apart, since then Anak Krakatau which means Son of Krakatoa has been forming from the remains and the sea bed, it is now several hundred feet high and has been erupting with more force throughout 2009, it is predicted it too will blow itself apart just like its original did in 1883, this eruption could come at anytime it is extremly active at the moment, if it does it could help reduce the temperature of the planet as its parent indeed did.
Over the past 10 yrs the World Temperature has been cooling that is a fact they dont want you to know, they want to put up taxes, what better excuse than climate change and global warming, lets frighten everyone, I dont Believe a word of it, this happens. Fact it was far warmer in the Middle Ages than it is now, and no industrial revolution then, just horse and carts and far less population, this is natural to our planet stop worrying it will correct itself. I shall still be lighting my coal fire this winter.”