Cumbria Flooding 2015

Storm Desmond and heavy rain brought widespread flooding to Cumbria and other
areas of northern England.

Causes of flooding
1. Storm Desmond brought record high rainfall – 348mm fell in a 24hr period.
2. Following a wet Autumn, this fell on already saturated ground
3. Steep hill slopes meant that it flowed into rivers quickly
4. Cockermouth is a small town that lies on the confluence of 2 rivers (the Cocker
and the Derwent) – this causes a ‘bottle neck effect’
5. Homes and businesses have been built on the floodplain. This makes the ground
impermeable.

Locations affected:
Towns on the Scottish border, Carlisle, Lancaster, Keswick, Braithwaite and Appleby
amongst many others. Large areas have been indirectly affected due to an electricity
substation becoming flooded which has left many communities without power.

Rivers affected:
River Greta, River Eden, River Teviot, River Kent.

Cause:
Rainfall of 2.4in to 3.9in (60mm to 100mm) has occurred, with some mountainous
areas recording more than 5.9in (150mm) over a 30-hour period.

Effects:
More than 1,000 people evacuated across Cumbria.
50,000 people are without power across Cumbria and Lancashire.
1,000 people have been evacuated from the Scottish border town of Hawick.
A train en route to Glasgow has been left stranded at Carlisle station overnight, with
passengers having to sleep on board.

Human response:
More than 100 flood warnings and more than 70 flood alerts were in place in northern
England on Saturday night, with more than 90 flood warnings and alerts in Scotland.
More than £10,000 has been donated by the public already after a £1m appeal was
launched to help people affected by flooding caused by Storm Desmond.
The Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund 2015, launched by the Cumbria Community
Foundation, aims to contribute to clean-up costs, emergency repairs, clothing, food
and drink, heating and heating equipment, childcare equipment and basic furniture for
individuals and families who already struggle financially.