The small Cornish village of Boscastle is not prone to regular annual flooding as many locations affected by extreme flooding events are.The village lies within the Valency valley. The Valency is normally a quiet stream, which follows a very steep course down into the valley from the hills around.

Setting the scene

• The following happened between the 15th -16th August 2004, in the small Cornish village of Boscastle. All events are based on a true account of the day.

The entire South-West of England has been battered with stormy weather over the last few days and as a result the ground has been saturated.

Helicopter report 15/8/041.

Helicopter report 16/8/04

• Early morning - the morning begins with clear skies and high temperatures. Moist winds are coming in off the sea & causing a great deal of moist, warm air to travel upwards quickly.

2.

• 12.15 Rain gauge at nearby Lesnewth some 4km (2½ miles) up the valley, shows no rainfall and it is dry in Boscastle’s harbour area, yet there are torrential showers at Camelford and at the top of Boscastle. Winds are blowing in from a south westerly direction

3.

Synoptic weather chart for 16/8/04

Source www.metoffice.gov.uk

Helicopter report 16/8/04

12.45pm - Rain gauge at Lesnewth records just over 12mm of rain fallen within the last 15 minutes.

Satellite image for 1 p.m. on 16 August 2004

4.

Helicopter report 16/8/04

• 2.15pm Rain still persists, but seems to have eased. Rain gauge at Lesnewth records 7mm of rain in 15 minutes.

5.

• 15.00 Power cuts caused by lightning. Persistent, heavy rain falling. Rain gauge at Lesnewth records 13mm of rain in 15 minutes.

6.

15.45 The River Valency has begun to breach its banks. Reports of people trapped by flood water in the Valency Valley, Boscastle with suggestions that the river has risen over 2m (6 - 7ft) within the last hour.

7.

16.00 A 3m (10ft) wall of floodwater rides through Boscastle car park at an estimated speed of 40mph. Bins are afloat.

8.

16.15 Water levels seem to be dropping.

9.

16.30 A further wall of floodwater rides through Boscastle car park and crashes into the Visitor Centre. Water now entering the Visitor Centre, the double doors are breaking.

10.

17:00 Cars are being washed out of the car park.the whole of the Visitor Centre building is shaken. The end wall collapses along with the roof. The waters, some 2½ m (8ft) deep, are now lapping the top step of the attic ladder. The rain is so heavy that it is hard to see a few feet away.

11.

• 21.00 The worst is over, the rain has now stopped at the waters of the river Valency are receding. The effects of this devastating day can now begin to be clearly seen.

Message from Mayor :

Please complete your decisions and work out your total score.Stand by for further instructions…

Images with thanks to……www.metoffice.gov.uk

www.ncdc.gov.uk

This lesson is inspired by a lesson produced by Noel Jenkins which can be found on www.juicygeography.co.uk

So what impact did the flood have?

• Sort the cards into social, economic and environmental effects

• You should have some left over – what do all these cards have in common?