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Gale force winds of up to 80mph hit the Westcountry last night, combining
with high tides to smash sea walls, flood villages and force the closure
of coastal areas.
Flood warnings were in place across Devon and Cornwall as some areas,
including Looe and Penzance, reported flooding hours before the highest
tides were expected.
Mark Rice, a spokesman for Environment Agency, said the stormy conditions
were caused by a combination of high spring tides and the prevailing winds.
He said it was the worst storms the region had experienced
in at least 25 years.
“We issued similar warnings a couple of years ago and they came
to nothing but all of the necessary factors came together to create severe
floods this time,” he said.
Mr Rice added that severe flood warnings were expected to
have remained in place overnight with regular flood warnings in place
across Devon and Cornwall today. Falmouth and Brixham Coastguards said
they were coordinating a “large number of incidents”.
A spokesman said: “Sea defences have been breached, causing flooding
in many areas.”
Falmouth Coastguard deployed seven coastguard rescue teams to affected
areas and they worked with the other emergency services to deal with flood
problems including closing off flooded coastal roads.
Coastguard Rescue teams from Falmouth, Portleven, Porthoustock and Penzance
helped to keep people away from flooded harbour areas and washed out roads.
St Mary’s Coastguard rescue team in the Scilly Isles were out with
the other emergency services sandbagging the harbour area.
Brixham Coastguard had nine Coastguard rescue teams out
on the Devon coast with a large number of incidents related to flooding.
Coastguard teams involved are St Austell, Looe, Plymouth, Tamar, Mevagissey,
Dartmouth, Berry Head, Torbay and Teignmouth as well as the Torbay, Fowey
and Teignmouth lifeboats.
High tide was at around 7pm last night, and combined with
strong winds and rough seas continued to cause problems overnight.
Falmouth Coastguard watch manager Mick Quinn said: “The Coastguard
and other emergency services have been involved in the response to the
flooding and storm damage tonight. Thankfully so far, most people are
heeding the warnings to stay away and no injuries have been reported but
the severe weather forecast continues for the next 12 hours with high
tide in Falmouth tomorrow morning around 6am and in Brixham at 7.30 am
so all the warnings remain in place.”
In Penzance, waves towered above the seafront Queen’s
Hotel. Bar manager Ryan Harvey said: “Part of the promenade in front
of the hotel has been destroyed and there is debris all over the road.”
The high tides peaked just after 5pm in Newlyn and at around 7pm in Torquay
long after residents and shopkeepers in seaside towns had begun lining
their doors and windows with layers of sandbags in a bid to keep out the
worst of the storms.
Looe, Cornwall, was the worst affected with at least 30 homes flooded
and many people evacuated. An emergency facility was set up to provide
support and assistance to people affected by the floods.
The beach was closed at around 11am as high tides continued
to lash against the rocks before flooding part of the town.
Around 20 properties, including The Seven Stars pub, were flooded in Flushing,
near Falmouth. At least ten buildings were also flooded in Fowey, and
in Kingsand there were reports of around four homes being flooded with
windows in many more buildings being smashed in the fierce winds.
Elsewhere, there were also reports of flooding at properties
in Newlyn, Penzance, Porthleven, Falmouth, Penryn, Mevagissey and Pentewan.
There were also reports of flooding in Dawlish, while Polperro was also
flooded, with water gushing down the main street. The seawall at Newlyn
also collapsed and the harbour wall in Lamorna Cove was reported to have
been washed away.
In Devon, severe flood warnings were in place from 2pm for the stretch
of coast from Plymouth to Lyme Regis, while in Cornwall, a stretch from
Land’s End to Plymouth was also highlighted as a flood risk –
although it was downgraded from a “severe” risk yesterday
afternoon.
Kevin Hogg, weather forecaster for the Met Office, said
the region had experienced winds of between 70mph and 80mph.
Speaking last night, he said: “I think the worst is probably out
of the way but it will still be quite a windy day (today) although the
winds will not be as strong and will probably be up to about 60mph.”
Gale force winds of up to 80mph hit the Westcountry last night, combining
with high tides to smash sea walls, flood villages and force the closure
of coastal areas.
Flood warnings were in place across Devon and Cornwall as some areas,
including Looe and Penzance, reported flooding hours before the highest
tides were expected.
Mark Rice, a spokesman for Environment Agency, said the
stormy conditions were caused by a combination of high spring tides and
the prevailing winds. He said it was the worst storms the region had experienced
in at least 25 years.
“We issued similar warnings a couple of years ago and they came
to nothing but all of the necessary factors came together to create severe
floods this time,” he said. Mr Rice added that severe flood warnings
were expected to have remained in place overnight with regular flood warnings
in place across Devon and Cornwall today.
Falmouth and Brixham Coastguards said they were coordinating
a “large number of incidents”.
A spokesman said: “Sea defences have been breached, causing flooding
in many areas.” Falmouth Coastguard deployed seven coastguard rescue
teams to affected areas and they worked with the other emergency services
to deal with flood problems including closing off flooded coastal roads.
Coastguard Rescue teams from Falmouth, Portleven, Porthoustock and Penzance
helped to keep people away from flooded harbour areas and washed out roads.
St Mary’s Coastguard rescue team in the Scilly Isles were out with
the other emergency services sandbagging the harbour area.
Brixham Coastguard had nine Coastguard rescue teams out
on the Devon coast with a large number of incidents related to flooding.
Coastguard teams involved are St Austell, Looe, Plymouth, Tamar, Mevagissey,
Dartmouth, Berry Head, Torbay and Teignmouth as well as the Torbay, Fowey
and Teignmouth lifeboats.
High tide was at around 7pm last night, and combined with
strong winds and rough seas continued to cause problems overnight.
Falmouth Coastguard watch manager Mick Quinn said: “The Coastguard
and other emergency services have been involved in the response to the
flooding and storm damage tonight. Thankfully so far, most people are
heeding the warnings to stay away and no injuries have been reported but
the severe weather forecast continues for the next 12 hours with high
tide in Falmouth tomorrow morning around 6am and in Brixham at 7.30 am
so all the warnings remain in place.”
In Penzance, waves towered above the seafront Queen’s
Hotel. Bar manager Ryan Harvey said: “Part of the promenade in front
of the hotel has been destroyed and there is debris all over the road.”
The high tides peaked just after 5pm in Newlyn and at around 7pm in Torquay
long after residents and shopkeepers in seaside towns had begun lining
their doors and windows with layers of sandbags in a bid to keep out the
worst of the storms.
Looe, Cornwall, was the worst affected with at least 30
homes flooded and many people evacuated. An emergency facility was set
up to provide support and assistance to people affected by the floods.
The beach was closed at around 11am as high tides continued to lash against
the rocks before flooding part of the town. Around 20 properties, including
The Seven Stars pub, were flooded in Flushing, near Falmouth. At least
ten buildings were also flooded in Fowey, and in Kingsand there were reports
of around four homes being flooded with windows in many more buildings
being smashed in the fierce winds.
Elsewhere, there were also reports of flooding at properties in Newlyn,
Penzance, Porthleven, Falmouth, Penryn, Mevagissey and Pentewan
There were also reports of flooding in Dawlish, while Polperro
was also flooded, with water gushing down the main street.
The seawall at Newlyn also collapsed and the harbour wall in Lamorna Cove
was reported to have been washed away.
In Devon, severe flood warnings were in place from 2pm for the stretch
of coast from Plymouth to Lyme Regis, while in Cornwall, a stretch from
Land’s End to Plymouth was also highlighted as a flood risk –
although it was downgraded from a “severe” risk yesterday
afternoon.
Kevin Hogg, weather forecaster for the Met Office, said
the region had experienced winds of between 70mph and 80mph.
Speaking last night, he said: “I think the worst is probably out
of the way but it will still be quite a windy day (today) although the
winds will not be as strong and will probably be up to about 60mph.”
article copyright © WESTERN MORNING NEWS
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