LYNMOUTH FLOOD 1952
It happened in August of 1952The size of the river suddenly grewIt tossed and turned and ruined
livesIt killed husbands, children and
wivesThe sun disappeared, the sky
turned greyThis was no longer an ordinary dayThe water rose to 40 feet highYou could here all around the
people cryIn the months before there had
been lots of rainThe ground could no longer
become a drain
The ground trembled, water came crashing
Parents were running, children were splashing
When the water came in there was no place to hide
The river was loud, fast and wideIt came thundering in and took over
the landDestroying houses like a giant’s hand(Chloe – Year 8)
CAUSES
THE ORIGINAL RIVER HAD BEEN NARROWED AND DIVERTED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS IN LYNMOUTH WHICH HAD REDUCED CHANNEL CAPACITY
EXMOOR (SOURCE OF RIVER) – GRANITE (IMPERMEABLE ROCK), RESULTING IN LARGE AMOUNTS OF SURFACE RUNOFF
LYNMOUTH MARKED WITH THE CONFLUENCE OF THE East AND West LYN RIVERS WITH LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER MEETING FROM BOTH RIVERS AFTER THE HEAVY RAIN
DURING THE FLOOD THE RIVER REJOINED ITS ORIGINAL COURSE
A VERY WET AUGUST WITH 12 OUT OF THE FIRST 14 DAYS EXPERIENCING HEAVY RAINFALL RESULTING IN SATURATED GROUND IN EXMOOR.
RELATIVELY SMALL DRAINAGE BASIN WITH STEEP SIDES ENCOURAGING RAPID RUN OFF
TRIGGERED BY TORRENTIAL RAIN (230mm) IN A 14HOUR PERIOD – ONE OF THE 3 BIGGEST RAINFALLS EVER RECORDED IN THE UK.
EFFECTS
DEBRIS BUILT UP BEHIND BRIDGES RESULTING IN THE
BUILD UP OF WATER......
34 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN THE
DISASTER
90 HOUSES AND
HOTELS WERE
DESTROYED
130 CARS AND BOATS WERE ALSO LOST
WAKE UP WAKE UP
FLOOD MANAGEME
NT
THE MOUTH OF THE EAST LYNN WAS WIDENED TO INCREASE CAPACITY AND ALLOW WATER TO QUICKLY PASS INTO THE BISTROL CHANNEL
WEST LYN HAS STRAIGHTENED TO INCREASE CHANNEL EFFICIENCY, IT HAS NOT BE REDIVERTED , INSTEAD ITS BEING ALLOWED TO FOLLOW ITS NATURAL COURSE
FLOODPLAIN ZONING WAS USED TO IDENTIFY AREAS AROUND THE RIVER MOST AT RISK FROM FLOODING. BUILDING RESTRICTIONS WERE PUT IN PLACE WITH AREAS CLOSE TO THE RIVER.
BRIDGES WERE MADE WIDER AND TALLER TO ALLOW FLOOD WATER TO TRAVEL QUICKLY BENEATH THEM.
EMBANKMENTS WERE BUILT BY THE RIVER TO INCREASE CHANNEL CAPACITY AND REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF FLOODING
MORE TREES WERE PLANTED UPSTREAM IN THE SOURCE AREA TO TRY AND REDUCE INITIAL SURFACE RUNOFF THROUGH INTERCEPTION AND THE SOAKING UP OF WATER. TREE ROOTS ALSO HELP TO IMPROVE INFILTRATION BY OPENING UP THE SOIL AND SLOWING DOWN THE RATE OF WATER AT WHICH WATER REACHES THE GROUND.