Flash f loods cut off Cornish holiday village
FLASH flooding swept through a Cornish village yesterday, destroying roads and trapping people in their homes.
Coverack on the Lizard Peninsula became inaccessible when huge volumes of water gushed down both roads into the village after it was hit by torrential rain, which caused a local river to burst its banks.
Dramatic pictures showed floodwater pouring through the fishing village and over the sea wall ‘like Niagara Falls’.
Local councillor Bill Frisken said the torrent of water had cut the village of around 250 houses in half.
He said: ‘One of the largest rivers has burst its banks, coming straight across the road and washing sides of the road away, and carrying with it large boulders the size of a man’s head.
‘It’s very, very dangerous. The people liv ing near the main river had to get their mother out of a window because the water was rising so rapidly.
‘It was several feet of water coming down off the field behind our house, and just pouring into the house.
‘I can confirm the depth of water is immense, and of course flowing very fast. You cannot walk through it because your feet would get washed from underneath you.’ Residents described ‘apocalyptic scenes’ as large hailstones smashed windows and homes were flooded.
The coastguard airlifted stranded residents to safety while fire and rescue workers told people to avoid the area as the storm hit at about 3.30pm yesterday.
Villager Wendy Davies, whose garden was destroyed, said: ‘It is shocking.
‘The rescue helicopter is here getting people out and there are about ten fire engines. Everyone I have spoken to has been flooded in the village and it is still coming down the main road with immense force.’
She added: ‘When I eventually got out of the house the hailstones were so bad it looked apocalyptic. It was like something out of a disaster movie.
‘The whole sea wall was like the Niagara Falls. It was horrific. There was debris everywhere and furniture being washed away.’ The thunderstorms in the South West were in stark contrast to other parts of the country which basked in temperatures of up to 30C (86F) yesterday.
Anne Rogers, who runs a bed and breakfast in Coverack, said: ‘It is utter devastation all along the seafront and the cliffside properties are all flooded.
‘Everyone is safe as far as I know, but there will be a very big cleanup job.
‘No one can get in or out of Coverack at the moment. You cannot get through. We are all stuck.’
Carla Wainwright, who works at the Paris Hotel in the village, told the BBC: ‘We couldn’t see anything – massive hailstones smashed some windows.
‘At the Bay Hotel on the opposite side, the ground floor is completely flooded and they’ve lost their electricity.
‘As far as I know everybody’s fine – it’s a small village and word spreads fast. So hopefully if we’ve not heard anything it’s a good sign.’