The 2009 Great Britain and Ireland floods were a weather event that affected parts of Great Britain and Ireland throughout November and into December 2009. November was the wettest month across the United Kingdom since records began in 1914 and had well above average temperatures. The worst affected area in Great Britain was the English county of Cumbria. The Irish counties of Clare, Cork, Galway and Westmeath were among the worst affected areas of Ireland.
European windstorms bringing heavy rain and gale-force winds caused damage and flooding to the south of Great Britain on 13–14 November. Unsettled weather continued across the south and later to the north. On 19–20 November, many towns and villages in Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway were affected. A number of bridges collapsed, one of which led to the death of a police officer, who was standing on the bridge when it collapsed. Another death occurred on 21 November as a canoeist was trapped against a tree near Poundsgate, on Dartmoor in Devon. In Powys, there were two deaths, at Newtown and Talybont-on-Usk.
Among the many places severely flooded was the Republic of Ireland's second largest city, Cork. For more than ten days, 40 per cent of its population were without running water after a treatment plant was affected by several metres of flood water. University College Cork was damaged and at least a week of lectures was cancelled. Courts were also disrupted, with some eventually being moved to a hotel. At the time, Taoiseach Brian Cowen described the situation in Ireland as an "ongoing emergency" that was going to get worse.
Event Before the severe gales affecting the United Kingdom on 13 November, unsettled weather had been affecting all of the United Kingdom since 12 November.
On 13 November an area of low pressure developed to the south-west of Ireland. It moved north-eastwards across the Irish Sea and west Scotland on 14 November. Weather fronts bringing heavy rain swept across the west and south of the United Kingdom. of rainfall in three hours was recorded in some parts of Sussex and Hampshire. The wind, coming from the south, reached gale to severe gale strength on 13 November; gusting between in some areas. On 14 November, strong winds and showers affected southern Great Britain, with winds gusting up to on the coast. A tornado was reported to have occurred in the east of England on 14 November.
Over the night of 19–20 November 2009, a forecast depression tracked northwest over Ireland, the Isle of Man, Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. Rainfall in a 24-hour period was recorded at at Shap and at Keswick. At Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale, rainfall was recorded at in a 24-hour period which the Met Office state is provisionally a UK record for any single location. At Penrith a multi-agency co-ordination centre was established. The floods were described as "the worst in 55 years". The Met Office reported that at Eskdalemuir, the amount of rainfall recorded in a 24-hour period exceeded the previous record set in 1931.
Heavy rain across Devon on 21 November caused the River Dart on Dartmoor to swell. A group of canoeists on the river were treated for hypothermia and one of the members died after being trapped against a tree at Poundsgate.
Damage
1–12 November The Met Office predicted that an area of low pressure would "explosively deepen close to the UK on Sunday 1 November," which resulted in heavy rain across the country. Thirteen people were rescued from homes and vehicles in more than 100 flooding incidents across Wales.
In Scotland on 1 November, Angus and Aberdeenshire were badly hit by flooding, causing transport disruption, burst pipes and the evacuation of hundreds of homes. The coastal town of Arbroath was one of the worst affected, being virtually cut off by severe flooding
In Northern Ireland, villages near the County Tyrone-County Londonderry border were hit by heavy rainfall the night of 4 November causing several families to be evacuated, and more than a dozen homes flooded.
Sligo was heavily flooded on 9 November. Passage West in County Cork was subjected to a thirty-minute flash flood on 12 November, causing an estimated €100,000 worth of damage and wrecking ten cars and several homes.
13–15 November The area of low pressure affecting southern Great Britain on 13–14 November caused some surface water flooding and damage from gales. Surface water flooding affected Devon and Cornwall. The gale-force winds across the counties brought down trees, branches, power cables and roofs. Local authorities and the Highways Agency were strained in maintaining traffic flow. Dorset reported coastal flooding as severe gales occurred during high tide. Some residents across the Welsh counties of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire were rescued by Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service. Flooding was widespread in the Conwy Valley, with homes in Betws-y-Coed, Llanrwst and nearby villages affected. Twelve people were rescued from a coach trapped in floodwater at Haverfordwest.
The Environment Agency issued 110 flood warnings prior to the storm reaching Great Britain on 13–14 November. Peak gusts reached at The Needles lighthouse, Isle of Wight. A tornado developed in Benfleet, Essex, damaging 60 homes. Another tornado in Lowestoft, Suffolk brought down a tree trapping a woman in a car. In Haywards Heath, West Sussex, people were rescued from units on an industrial estate which was deep in water.
18–25 November
Great Britain
In Lancashire, firefighters had to rescue schoolchildren trapped in a bus stranded by floodwater at Sawley, and flooding occurred in Barnoldswick, Blackburn, Burnley and Rossendale. Workers at Kippax Mill in Crawshawbooth were evacuated when the building was hit by a landslide as the hill collapsed under the weight of water.
Many properties were flooded in Ambleside, leaving the main road impassable for most vehicles. Over 200 people in Cockermouth were rescued from their homes by the emergency services. About 75 people were accommodated overnight in Cockermouth School and the Shepherds Hotel (known locally as the Sheep & Wool Centre). Search and rescue helicopters from RAF Valley, RAF Boulmer and RAF Leconfield rescued approximately 50 people, with the remainder being rescued by boat, particularly by the RNLI, and HM Coastguard. A Coastguard helicopter was deployed to the area from Stornoway to supplement the military SAR assets. Water levels in the town centre were reported to be as high as , resulting in the collapse of Lorton Bridge, and over 1,200 properties losing their electricity supply. Coniston Water burst its banks and submerged roads, fields and local premises. Electricity supply was lost to 349 properties in Keswick. About 50 people were accommodated overnight in Keswick's Convention Centre, as well as the Skiddaw Hotel and St Joseph's School. Several homes were also flooded in the town after the River Greta burst its banks, rising above normal.
In south Ulverston, a number of residents had to be evacuated – around 80 homes were flooded on North Lonsdale Road and the surrounding areas, with many accommodated at Ulverston Victoria High School. A number of A roads in the surrounding area had to be closed off and some train services were disrupted.
In Workington, the Northside Bridge over the River Derwent collapsed. The bridge carried the A597 and its collapse cut off gas supplies to the town. Bill Barker, a police constable, died in the bridge collapse, following a called-off lifeboat search. The replacement for Northside Bridge has been finished in 2015.New Civil Engineer, 25 May 2010 p11.
The Southwaite Footbridge on the trackbed of the dismantled Cockermouth and Workington Railway collapsed.
The bridge over the River Cocker in Low Lorton was also destroyed. Its replacement opened on Monday 31 January.
On Windermere in the Lake District approximately 20 boats sank due to the floods. The boats were all moored to a fixed pier, and could not rise with the rising water.
Also in Workington, Calva Bridge was reported on 22 November to have dropped by about . Police warned that it could collapse too. The bridge was later condemned, leaving residents in Northside a journey to get into Workington. Calva bridge had been built in 1841 by Thomas Milton. It was designed by Thomas Nelson. The bridge is a Grade II listed building. Although badly damaged, it was decided that the bridge could be repaired, as work carried out in 2005 to waterproof the deck had strengthened the bridge too. The contract for the repair work was awarded jointly to Balfour Beatty and Mouchel. Engineers warned that there was a 50% chance that the bridge could collapse during repairs. Two-thirds of the central pier's foundations had been washed away during the flood.New Civil Engineer, 27 May 2010 p10
The Dock Bridge, which carries the railway line linking Workington Docks and the steelworks, was badly damaged. Photographs show that at least one of the concrete trestles has been washed away, dislodging the rails on the bridge.
Newlands Beck Bridge, Braithwaite, near Keswick, collapsed, as did Camerton footbridge near Workington. A suspension footbridge over the River Eamont at Dalemain also collapsed.
The Whitesands area of Dumfries was affected by flooding when the River Nith burst its banks. Five people were rescued by firefighters, and another two were rescued by boat from a stranded car. In the Scottish Borders several homes were flooded in Ettrick and Yarrow.
In Wales, a woman was reported missing in Brecon on 21 November, having apparently fallen into the River Usk after crossing a bridge that had a gap in the railings. Dyfed-Powys Police and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service started a search which was called off overnight. It was resumed the next morning. A body was recovered from the River Usk at Talybont-on-Usk on 24 November. At Newtown, Powys, the body of a pensioner was found on the banks of the River Severn on 23 November. She had been reported missing on 21 November.
In Shropshire flood defences were deployed along the Severn Valley and some minor roads were closed due to flooding.
Isle of Man
On the Isle of Man, there were power cuts in Ballaragh and Laxey but Manx Electricity restored power to all affected properties by the afternoon.
Ireland
In the Republic of Ireland; a family of five were winched to safety by helicopter in County Galway, and damage was caused to the Lake Hotel at Killarney in County Kerry. About 40 families at Ballinasloe in County Galway had to be evacuated by boat after the River Suck burst its banks. The centre of Cork was flooded by the River Lee to a depth of , and the nearby towns of Bandon, Clonakilty, Dunmanway and Skibbereen were inaccessible. University College Cork sustained widespread damage, prompting it to cancel all lectures for at least one week.
Thousands of homes across the country were left with boiled-water notices, and over 40,000 homes were left without any water supply. In Cork City, over 18,000 homes on the city's north and inner south-sides were left without water for up to ten days. This was as a result of flood damage to the city's water treatment plant. The Irish Army was deployed to deal with rising floodwaters at Ennis, County Clare, Athlone, County Westmeath and Clonmel, County Tipperary. Electricity supplies were cut off in Bandon, Cork and east County Galway. The house of one old lady in Athlone was even reported to have been the victim of flooding. A lorry driver had to be lifted from his vehicle in County Roscommon after it became struck in water beneath a bridge. Many homes and apartments in Athlones westbank were evacuated as the river levels of the Shannon rose.