Flooding in the UK

Cockermouth, Cumbria

November 2009

Cockermouth in Cumbria

The pretty Georgian market town of Cockermouth was flooded because it is where two

large rivers merge.

Cockermouth www.multimap.co.uk

Cockermouth CumbriaThe town, birthplace of William Wordsworth, suffered after a

record rainfall in 24 hours meant the Cocker and Derwent

burst their banks.The River Cocker rises 12 miles

away in the Lake District, where it will have picked up millions of gallons of water

from the Cumbrian fells.And the Upper Derwent is fed by several rivers in valleys at

the head of Borrowdale.

Lake District, Cumbria

‘old bridges tended to be more vulnerable to the effects of such deluges than modern structures, which are built higher above water level and span the whole width of the river without needing central arches that can break down under the force of floodwater.‘ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

‘Around 100 residentsflooded out of theirhomes were still shelteringin reception centres onSaturday after a bridgeover the River Derwentin Cockermouth collapsedunder the weight of water,killing a police officer.

Three further bridges werealso destroyed by thetorrents, caused by arecord rainfall of 12.3inches (31.4cm) in just 24hours. ‘www.telegraph.couk

‘A respected community policeman (and father of four) who was swept away in swollen flood waters as he went to the aid of stranded motorists.’

www.timesonline.co.uk

‘Gordon Brown visited Cumbria to see the damage caused by a flood of 'biblical' proportions and announced that an extra £1 million would be made available to help the affected areas.’ www.telegraph.co.uk

Mr Brown also paid tribute to other members of the emergencyservices. He said: ‘What you have done over the past few days istackle one of the greatest rainfalls we’ve seen in our country,

andyou’ve done it with such superb organisation that I wanted to tellyou, on behalf of the whole country, how proud we are of you.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Businesses damaged

‘It went 5ft up the walls. Everything was ruined and the whole of downstairs is covered

in sludge.www.dailymail.co.uk

• www.guardian.co.uk

www.timesonline.co.uk

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Video clip?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7twl2HfGs8

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