Three Towns Forum
The Local => Times Past => Topic started by: Trojan on October 19, 2010, 09:50:25 pm
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Llandudno's North Parade, near the entrance to the pier, was redesigned in 2000, as part of a plan for raising the sea defenses after the catastrophic flooding of June 10 1993.
However, the flood was not caused by the sea but by the inability of the drainage system to cope with 5 1/2 inches of rain which fell in three hours, during high tide.
The new pumping station at West Shore, that had opened a year previously failed, due to flooding of it's electrical system, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Share your memories here:
Some photographic memories:
1. Back gardens of Bridge Road, West Shore from Maesdu Bridge.
2. Trinity Avenue & St Andrews Avenue, West Shore.
3. The Oval area.
4. Aerial view of the Oval from the Great Orme.
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Off Trinity Avenue, West Shore. Courtesy of forum member Suepp
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The lifeboat station.
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Denness Place:
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Llandudno's North Parade, near the entrance to the pier, was redesigned in 2000, as part of a plan for raising the sea defenses after the catastrophic flooding of June 10 1993.
However, the flood was not caused by the sea but by the inability of the drainage system to cope with 5 1/2 inches of rain which fell in three hours, during high tide.
I think you might have 2 flooding’s mixed up here Trojan. The North Parade one was in August 1999, when a storm centred itself over the Great Orme. The 5½ inches of rain would have had a much better chance of being contained if the old Victorian brick lined storm culvert hadn't had a very large modern concrete plug inserted into it, just in front of Hen Dy Hotel, after some dodgy road repairs had been carried out. Once the flood waters hit the plug it had nowhere to go. The force was so great; it hydraulically pushed North Parade up 6 inches and flooded the cellars of 5 Hotels along that section of North Parade. Trouble was it wasn't just fresh storm water that came up through their toilets but every thing else as well. X:((
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I never heard about the 1999 flood before? I was working on the Pier back in 1993 and the whole area around the Pier entrance was badly flooded,.
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No, just the "Great Flood"of 1993 blongb.
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blonb: the 1989 flood was caused by the combination of a severe depression creating Northerly storm force winds, the combined effects of which were a marked elevation in the high tide levels and on-shore winds in excess of 80 mph. This caused severe flooding but in Towyn, where the sea wall defences breached and not in Llandudno.
What you describe occurred in the 1993 flood, and was the result simply of a lot of rain. It was in 1993 that the thunderstorm centred on the Orme and the severity of the flooding in the town itself was partly attributed to the design of the marine drive wall, which - lacking escape culverts, simply acted as a gigantic gutter, channelling the water into the town.
I can confirm that, as I was trying to drive to Llys Helig Drive at about 7.00pm. and the torrential water running against me, along with various sizes of boulders, suggested it wasn't the wisest of endeavours.
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I never heard about the 1999 flood before? I was working on the Pier back in 1993 and the whole area around the Pier entrance was badly flooded,.
July 2000 was another one, my OH and I were knee high in a stream which came off the Orme during a storm trying to stop it coming through the back of the house. The main sewers were blocked due to a power failure at the pumping station.The grates had backed up, so we'd nowhere to sweep the water except to try and divert it down the side passage and out the front.
We now pester CCBC to keep the drains clear in the back lane and my OH made a barrier for the back gate---- the cars now float round the car park ! ;D
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I never heard about the 1999 flood before? I was working on the Pier back in 1993 and the whole area around the Pier entrance was badly flooded,.
July 2000 was another one, my OH and I were knee high in a stream which came off the Orme during a storm trying to stop it coming through the back of the house. The main sewers were blocked due to a power failure at the pumping station.The grates had backed up, so we'd nowhere to sweep the water except to try and divert it down the side passage and out the front.
We now pester CCBC to keep the drains clear in the back lane and my OH made a barrier for the back gate---- the cars now float round the car park ! ;D
The problem is that the Victorian drainage system cannot cope with the very high volumes of water caused by these sudden downpours, which seem to be coming far more frequent. Even when the road drains are kept clean (which isn't always the case), they get overloaded very quickly.
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Off Trinity Avenue, West Shore. Courtesy of forum member Suepp
It's actually the little road at the far end of Jubilee street
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Off Trinity Avenue, West Shore. Courtesy of forum member Suepp
It's actually the little road at the far end of Jubilee street
It's not the Albion St end, Thorp St?
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I've just been reading the various posts on this subject. Firstly, the Great Flood (well, thats a laugh for a start because a post or two later the Towyn flood is mentioned-----now, THAT is the GREAT FLOOD. What Llandudno suffered was a lot of rainwater. Try that mixed with salt, and you will know what a Great Flood is). But the dates mentioned, firstly 1999, then Ian mentions 1989 although it looks as if he altered this from some other date. Just to have it correct, the GREAT FLOOD (in Towyn) started on February 26th 1990. Written by one of the 36 people who, afterwards, were awarded a certificate to commemorate "outstanding service to the community in their hours of need." I knew I'd get the chance to mention this sooner or later LOL Mike
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Everyone, please, read the first thread!
Llandudno's North Parade, near the entrance to the pier, was redesigned in 2000, as part of a plan for raising the sea defenses after the catastrophic flooding of June 10 1993.
:rage:
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I've just been reading the various posts on this subject. Firstly, the Great Flood (well, thats a laugh for a start because a post or two later the Towyn flood is mentioned-----now, THAT is the GREAT FLOOD. What Llandudno suffered was a lot of rainwater. Try that mixed with salt, and you will know what a Great Flood is). But the dates mentioned, firstly 1999, then Ian mentions 1989 although it looks as if he altered this from some other date. Just to have it correct, the GREAT FLOOD (in Towyn) started on February 26th 1990. Written by one of the 36 people who, afterwards, were awarded a certificate to commemorate "outstanding service to the community in their hours of need." I knew I'd get the chance to mention this sooner or later LOL Mike
What did you do, Mike?
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I remember sitting in my taxi on the rank on Gloddaeth one night, I seem to think it was 1989 when the sewer drains started popping , I've never seen so many Rats coming out and running every where. There were thousands of them.
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Off Trinity Avenue, West Shore. Courtesy of forum member Suepp
It's actually the little road at the far end of Jubilee street
It's not the Albion St end, Thorp St?
Thorpe street yes
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Conwy Quay Flood in 1993:
[smg id=1052]
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Marine Drive after the floods 1993:
[smg id=1053]
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The BP garage in Llandudno Junction (bottom of the hill) after the 1993 floods. The water was 15 feet deep here.
[smg id=1054]
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Gyffin, Conwy, in the 1993 floods:
[smg id=1055]
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Gyffin, Conwy, in the 1993 floods:
[smg id=1056]
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Gyffin, Conwy, in the 1993 floods:
[smg id=1057]
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Colwyn Bay (Mochdre?) in the 1993 Floods:
[smg id=1058]
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I know its a bit late now, but on Nov 8th Dave asked "What did you do" in this thread, addressed to me. I've only just come across it. In case anyone thinks Ive dodged answering it, I, along with 35 other worthy individuals, was presented with a certificate thanking us for services to the communities of Towyn and Kinmel Bay in their hours of need, i.e. the flood of Feb 1990. That day I happened to be in Towyn, it was my youngest daughters first day in a nursery school. The wind was howling, it had been for six days, the tide was well over the seawall (not unusual, it had happened only about 10 days before) but this time was different, it got over the main road and then there was nothing to stop it for literally miles. I owned seven coaches and three cars, all except one caught in the flood (the exception was in Chester. It had broken down!!!). From midday I was involved in evacuating residents, many elderly, the largest peacetime evacuation in the U.K. ever. Three days and nights, nonstop, I drove the one coach which was still capable of moving. Me and my bus were commandeered by the Police, so all driving hoursregulations went out of the window. Mike
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The BP garage in Llandudno Junction (bottom of the hill) after the 1993 floods. The water was 15 feet deep here.
[smg id=1054]
DaveR, I thought you may like a before to go with your after.
BTW, that black line down the middle is a lamp post and its shadow and not my poor photography.
I had just got back from London by train and managed to get a water taxi over to the Killer by David 'Mogsy' Williams from the North Wales Fire Service about 8pm.
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Looking at this photo of by the junction station reminds me of one of my favourite soapbox subjects. Why I always maintain that the Towyn flood was much, much worse. First the salt in the water. Second, the length of time it was there. Where this photo was taken---I drove over this only 24 hours later and, although there was obvious signs of damage, there was virtually no water. In Towyn, there is a large surface water drainage culvert going into the Foryd river. Because the river is tidal, there are gates and a pumping station to help the water out. Unfortunately, powered by electric. Unfortunately, flooded. i.e. no elec, no pumps. Worse. About ten years before Welsh Water had a very large project to protect the whole Towyn/KB area from flash rainwater flooding (which happened in 1971). They constructed a bund the whole way from the Foryd all the way to Abergele at EXACTLY the same height alongside the river Gele (just a stream normally) so that is the stream flooded, and the tide was in, there was a large capacity available to store the water. Most unfortunately the towyn flood came from the breached seawall, raced inland for up to two miles and then came up against the bund---but on the wrong side. So it was well and truly trapped. And that was where it stayed for five days and nights at up to six feet deep, from Monday midday to around Saturday morning. Mike
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DaveR, I thought you may like a before to go with your after.
BTW, that black line down the middle is a lamp post and its shadow and not my poor photography.
I had just got back from London by train and managed to get a water taxi over to the Killer by David 'Mogsy' Williams from the North Wales Fire Service about 8pm.
Great photo, Bri! I'm sure I've asked you before but do you have any others from that day?
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I know its a bit late now, but on Nov 8th Dave asked "What did you do" in this thread, addressed to me. I've only just come across it. In case anyone thinks Ive dodged answering it, I, along with 35 other worthy individuals, was presented with a certificate thanking us for services to the communities of Towyn and Kinmel Bay in their hours of need, i.e. the flood of Feb 1990. That day I happened to be in Towyn, it was my youngest daughters first day in a nursery school. The wind was howling, it had been for six days, the tide was well over the seawall (not unusual, it had happened only about 10 days before) but this time was different, it got over the main road and then there was nothing to stop it for literally miles. I owned seven coaches and three cars, all except one caught in the flood (the exception was in Chester. It had broken down!!!). From midday I was involved in evacuating residents, many elderly, the largest peacetime evacuation in the U.K. ever. Three days and nights, nonstop, I drove the one coach which was still capable of moving. Me and my bus were commandeered by the Police, so all driving hoursregulations went out of the window. Mike
Proud of you, Mike! $good$
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Colwyn Bay (Mochdre?) in the 1993 Floods:
[smg id=1058]
Looking at this one a little more closely, it's apparent it's Chapel Street in Mochdre. Here's a Google Streetview of it from such the same angle looking rather drier:
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Great photo, Bri! I'm sure I've asked you before but do you have any others from that day?
Only more taken from the station car park before I left and inside my home when I got back but a few more from the next day and thereafter naturally.
I also kept a video diary which I was asked to lend later to the local council to copy for their archives.
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This is one of Trinity Church taken on 30th October 1932 when the tide came over from both shores.
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Now I wonder who owned that car coming away from Trinity Church with the personal number plate JC12.
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Jesus Christ? Oh no he walked on water didn't he?
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Now I wonder who owned that car coming away from Trinity Church with the personal number plate JC12.
The reg number is now on a Range Rover
The enquiry is complete
The vehicle details for JC 12 are:
Date of Liability 01 04 2012
Date of First Registration 28 03 2008
Year of Manufacture 2008
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 3628CC
CO2 Emissions 294g/Km
Fuel Type Heavy Oil
Export Marker Not Applicable
Vehicle Status Licence Not Due
Vehicle Colour GREY
Vehicle Type Approval M1
Vehicle Excise Duty Rate for vehicle
6 Months Rate £253.00
12 Months Rate £460.00
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West Shore 1924
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Jesus Christ? Oh no he walked on water didn't he?
:laugh:
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Jesus Christ? Oh no he walked on water didn't he?
I had in mind JC12 for Jesus Christ and his 12 Disciples but that would have come later. $lol$ :-}}}
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Jesus Christ? Oh no he walked on water didn't he?
I had in mind JC12 for Jesus Christ and his 12 Disciples but that would have come later. $lol$ :-}}}
L0L
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I have just realised today is the 18th anniversary of the flood of 10 June 1993.
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Somewhere around Trinity Avenue.
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The Oval.
The photo has been used before on the first page of this thread.
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Tch Tch! Musta missed the first page! It's age catching up with me, or me catching up with my age! ZXZ
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Our ex neighbours had no damage but managed to convince the insurance chap that they had mainly by pulling wall paper off the walls. They got thousands!
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Our ex neighbours had no damage but managed to convince the insurance chap that they had mainly by pulling wall paper off the walls. They got thousands!
And it is that type of fraud that increases the Insurance Premiums for the rest of us! $angry$
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Our ex neighbours had no damage but managed to convince the insurance chap that they had mainly by pulling wall paper off the walls. They got thousands!
And it is that type of fraud that increases the Insurance Premiums for the rest of us! $angry$
That happened a lot after the flood. It was the first time I saw people using a hosepipe inside their house.
It was interesting to see various building and decorating "firms" spring up also.
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That happened a lot after the flood. It was the first time I saw people using a hosepipe inside their house.
L0L L0L L0L
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someone I know kitted out their kitchen with perfectly good units thrown out after the floods!
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someone I know kitted out their kitchen with perfectly good units thrown out after the floods!
Now that's proper recycling $good$ If we had a flood now there would be thousands of plastic recycling boxes floating everywhere!
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From the Llandudno AdvertiserJune 11th 1993
(http://)
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(http://)
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(http://)
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Good work, Suepp. $good$
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That white boat (top right) captained by fireman David ‘Mogsy’ Williams was the same boat that ferried me from the railway station at Llandudno Junction over to the car park of the Station Hotel when I arrived back from London.
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Regarding the Towyn Floods. Those who suffered were given £15.00 per person to help them get by. People had to form a queue to get their £15.00. Many realised they could go round again and pick up another £15.00, which they did.
Regarding the 1993 floods in Llandudno. One insurance assessor told me that during his visit to one estate in the town, he saw the same three piece suite 7 times. He also said that he was amazed looking at the claims, that at the time of the Llandudno floods there had been no rubber backed carpet anywhere, it was all Wilton.
The DHS actually ran out of money too, and had to call upon funds from other locations. One family who had not been insured were paid £1,600 so they could replace their white goods, sofa etc. Two weeks later they went back and asked for money to replace the same items they had already been given money for. When reminded that they had already had the money, the mother replied, the kids were so distraught at the experience, they took them away for 2 weeks holiday with the money. Wait for it....Yes, you guessed it....The DHS gave them the same amount of money again....I kid you not.
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And all those who criticise the Freemasons may be interested to know that they were one of the first, if not the first, to make a massive donation to the relief fund. :D
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Yorkie is quite right. If I remember correctly, the Freemasons very quietly gave the first major donation to the Towyn Relief Fund of some £10,000. Fantasic!
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Well I was at the centre of the Towyn flood and know all about it as well if not better than anyone else---and its the first I have ever heard about any £15 giveaways and any donation from the Freemasons. I agree I might not have heard about the Freemasons but it is highly unlikely I wouldnt have known about the £15. If I had had the time I would have been first in the queue
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One of my best friends is a member of an extremely well known international charity, and he was there at the time (Boddlewyddan Castle I think) helping the Mayor hand out the cash.
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And all those who criticise the Freemasons may be interested to know that they were one of the first, if not the first, to make a massive donation to the relief fund. :D
But obviously, they don't like to make a big thing of it... WWW WWW
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I remember wading down St Seiriol's Road to see if relatives were ok. Coming towards me was the inshore lifeboat carrying "driver" a couple , a sheep dog and a black bin bag of stuff. The water was 4" deep. I fell about laughing much to their chagrin! :-X
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Good work, Suepp. $good$
Yes, excellent. $good$
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I remember wading down St Seiriol's Road to see if relatives were ok. Coming towards me was the inshore lifeboat carrying "driver" a couple , a sheep dog and a black bin bag of stuff. The water was 4" deep. I fell about laughing much to their chagrin! :-X
L0L
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Regarding the 1993 floods in Llandudno. One insurance assessor told me that during his visit to one estate in the town, he saw the same three piece suite 7 times. He also said that he was amazed looking at the claims, that at the time of the Llandudno floods there had been no rubber backed carpet anywhere, it was all Wilton.
_))*
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I always remember watching television that evening, when all of a sudden the living room carpet started moving in a ripple effect.
I thought I was hallucinating at first, then the carpet became wet & soggy as the water level rose.
I had to laugh at the next-door neighbour with his back door open, trying in vain to brush the rising water out of his kitchen.
I'd never seen "rapids" swirling past the gate post and down the driveway before though.
The calm after the storm was eerie, as myself and a friend waded along Conway Road in the tropical humidity.
An experience I'll never forget, to say the least.
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Good work, Suepp. $good$
Yes, excellent. $good$
Cheers ! came across the newspaper in my parents' attic. There's a report in it about a third of the Ski slope being washed away, Mr Alan Bainbridge Director is quoted as saying " Our drainage tank holds around 5,000 gallons of water but what came down last night was far more than that. We have still got the tide marks from the 15 foot pool of water which collected at the bottom of the slope"
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The water was funneling down Old Road and would have been great for white water rafting..... for the very brave.
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Hello Waffagolf. I reply to your recent post, Bodelwyddan Castle was used a s an emergency sleeping station on the first night. I dont know whether or not the Mayor was there, but I am absolutely certain there was no giving away of £15 or anything else that night. Your friend from the well known international charity might have been there at a later date, and, indeed, might have helped with giving out cash to someone----but it certainly wasent an emergency payout at the time. I was driving one of my own coaches that night getting people from Emrys ap Iwan school in Abergele to the Castle. They were put in the school from Towyn as a stopgap. Bodelwyddan Castle was in a state of controlled caous, literally hundreds trying to get some sleep on the floor, social workers everywhere trying to reunite families and the last thing anyone thought of was cash either giving or receiving.
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An afterthought. Don't forget this was the largest peacetime evacuation of people ever in the U.K. Over 3,500 on the first night. I remember at around 2 a.m. I happened to be standing alongside someone, I dont know who or what he was but he was MR.BIG in Clwyd Social Services or similar and he was on a phone strung up in a temporary fashion in Bodelwyddan Castle and he was doing his best to fend off the national press who were after how many deaths etc etc for next days papers. Of course, thank God, there were no fatalities due entirely to the fact that the flood happened midday, in daylight. If it had happened in the middle of the night it would have been a very, very different story.
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My wife was trapped in the hairdressers' in George street. The rapidly rising water had made the door impossible to open until the fire people smashed the glass plate.
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One aspect I have just remembered, was the temporary static caravans that were used to house people made homeless by the flood.
I remember some on the Trinity Ave playing fields and also on the green off Maesdu Road opposite the Tre Cwm Estate flats.
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ITN news clip:
http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1993/06/11/BSP110693012/?s=Llandudno&st=0&pn=3 (http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1993/06/11/BSP110693012/?s=Llandudno&st=0&pn=3)
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One aspect I have just remembered, was the temporary static caravans that were used to house people made homeless by the flood.
I remember some on the Trinity Ave playing fields and also on the green off Maesdu Road opposite the Tre Cwm Estate flats.
An insight into the flood damage.
http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1993/10/15/BSP151093032/?s=Llandudno&st=0&pn=4 (http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1993/10/15/BSP151093032/?s=Llandudno&st=0&pn=4)
The clip shows the static caravans and the one & only Tommy Roache.
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The £15 was indeed paid out to people as previously stated. But as you say, it was chaos, so maybe some missed out.
I have loads of press cuttings from the time of the Llandudno floods. Dwr Cymru worked out that in the three hours that the rain fell, approx. 500,000 million gallons of rain fell over Llandudno & the surrounding area. Half of it came in my house I think. I lost my first ever teddy too.
The powers that be never declared it a disaster because they said no one had died. But if you look back at the Obituary colums over the 6/12 months after the floods and look at the addresses, you will see that people did indeed die as a result, but not actually on the day of the rainfall. Therefore, it was a disaster.
I remember the story of the looter dressed in a wet suit in the Liddell drive area. The police kept denying that looting was going on, but it was. I was myself in the back of a TA truck as the TA's were ordered out of a particular area, and remember protesting to all and sundry that we shouldn't leave the area to the looters, but I was simply told they had their orders to withdraw. It was appalling, but it wouldn't have been safe for me to stay there by myself.
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Here's another one:
http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1993/06/15/BSP150693022/?s=llandudno&st=0&pn=2 (http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1993/06/15/BSP150693022/?s=llandudno&st=0&pn=2)
So many people were not insured - crazy. Contents Insurance isn't expensive.
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but it wouldn't have been safe for me to stay there by
myself.
Especially when you had lost your teddy. 8)
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Here's another one:
http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1993/06/15/BSP150693022/?s=llandudno&st=0&pn=2 (http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//ITN/1993/06/15/BSP150693022/?s=llandudno&st=0&pn=2)
So many people were not insured - crazy. Contents Insurance isn't expensive.
There was quite a bit of structural damage too. Floor-boards had to be replaced, walls had to be re-plastered etc.
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Sorry about this, Dave, but you have touched on a sore point---one of my hobby horses. Contents insurance. Actually probably all insurance. And the small print that goes into every policy. My own experience in Towyn/Kinmel Bay. In K Bay I had around nine commercial vehicles all ins 3rd party fire and theft. You've guessed it, no flood cover. Also a workshop and expensive equipment inside. No insurance because it was refused because of a flood danger, from a flash flood on the land, nothing to do with the sea. Never mind, I had my house in Towyn, well insured. I thought. Just one (of many) incedents when it came to the nitty, gritty matter of paying out. I had a nice, matching carpet in the hall, stairs and upstairs landing. Just by coincedence I happened to be in my house when the water started to seriously rise. So I grabbed the carpet and bundled it up around six or eight stairs out of harms way, but in the confusion later on that day it got kicked and it rolled down into the salt water. Ruined. So, months later, it came to the interview with insurers. Item:- new carpet, around £500. Oh, no, says the man. You've had it for 15 years, well used. Me: No, it was brand new, I only bought it six months ago. Man: you did'nt tell us. Me: I did'nt know I had to. Man: Oh, yes. Any single item worth more than 15 percent of the total value of contents has to be informed. See the small print. Where is my red pencil to delete this £500. End of story. P.S. And there were many, many similar ways in which the insurance worm managed to wriggle off the claimants hook.
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It's true insurance conditions can be extraordinarily tricky to meet, and never more so than now. There are a couple of ways around the problem, however. One is to ensure you get insurance only from one of the Which? recommended providers, but policies these days tend to have a much longer list of exclusions than cover, so it's also important to have policies that have the Plain English Crystal Mark on their products. The biggest issue is potential flooding: the environment agency's flood risk map (http://maps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiybyController?x=531500.0&y=181500.0&topic=floodmap&ep=map&scale=3&location=London,%20City%20of%20London&lang=_e&layerGroups=default&textonly=off#x=287337&y=378729&lg=1,&scale=5) means that few, if any, insurers will offer insurance for those areas, even if your home has never been flooded in its existence
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Today is the 19th anniversary of those terrible floods of the 10 June 1993.
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I remember it well. I was working at Barclays in Mostyn Street. Water poured into the premises from the rear quickly flooding the basements and strongroom areas. Electrics and gas central heating boiler down there and they were quickly submerged. Needless to say the branch was closed for a few days and the aftermath was felt (and smelt) for some time after.
While that was happening at the Bank, our then home off Gloddaeth Avenue was being affected too.
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I was driving for Crosville at the time and had finished my early shift but had agreed to a bit of overtime to earn a few extra pennies. I ended up stuck at the fire station in Conwy heading for the Morfa but the road was flooded. The garage on the left had some used cars for sale on the forecourt and the field leading to it was flooding badly, the water building up behind the wall, when it suddenly burst through and the deluge took four of the cars with it. Seeing them floating off down to the Morfa complete with their 'For Sale' signs flapping away on top made me realise my job was done for the day so I turned back for the depot.
I couldn't reach the depot because that was flooded too so I drove home in the bus, luckily I was only in one of the small minibuses, and planned to return early the next morning after the waters had subsided. I lived up the Orme at the time so there were no flooding worries there but the drive home was quite an eye opener as I picked my way through the streets and saw all the poorly affected people in places like Council Street trying to save what little they had left.
The next morning when I got to work I found out most of the drivers had also taken their buses home too so after the initial chaos sorting out the fleet they had an 80/90% of services running by mid morning and only one vehicle in the fleet had been affected as it was the only vehicle in the depot at the time. Had it happened in the middle of the night they would have probably lost the whole fleet as the depot had been under a few feet of water!
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The 10th June 2013 will be the 20th anniversary.
Twenty years has certainly flown by !!
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But the memories keep flooding back. :-X
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They sure do.
I can still remember our youngest, at four years of age, sitting upstairs on a window sill and asking;
"Dad, will it be like this forever?"
When are you home next, Trojan?
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Amazing to think it was 20 years ago....
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They sure do.
I can still remember our youngest, at four years of age, sitting upstairs on a window sill and asking;
"Dad, will it be like this forever?"
When are you home next, Trojan?
I expect it dampened your bowling Bri.
No plans to come home as yet. Will let you know when I do.
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Trojan is very mercurial, when he returns he does not announce it...
..instead, he reappears mysteriously like the shopkeeper on Mr Benn, (eh mate? :laugh:)
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Today is the 21st Anniversary of the floods of 10 June 1993.
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I noticed during yesterdays rain that many drain grids were full to the top with muck and some too far from the kerb to drain the water. If the council doesn't clean and maintain the drains, the 1993 floods will happen again.
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I noticed during yesterdays rain that many drain grids were full to the top with muck and some too far from the kerb to drain the water. If the council doesn't clean and maintain the drains, the 1993 floods will happen again.
I've noticed the Gully Cleaner around Llandudno a few times lately but, you're right, there are still many blocked road drains in the town. Part of the problem is that the lorry cannot get near to the drains because of cars parked over them.
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Good piece of rope attached to the lorry will soon move them $hands$
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Today is the 23rd anniversary.
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Whilst blocked drains in the road gutters can cause flooding, it doesn't make any difference at all in a major flood like Towyn and Llandudno because the major outlet pipes are all unable to accept the volume of water. So nothing moves.
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Nothing could have prevented the Towyn flood Mike because the estate that we both lived in was flooded to a depth of about three feet of sea water.
In Llandudno, I believe that the Wales Water pumping station got flooded and the mechanism to release the water failed. Apparently there was no over riding mechanism so consequently the town remained flooded for a number of days. Whether that would have had any impact on that freak downpour of heavy rain I haven't a clue but nowadays there is a lot of sand in the drains that may have an adverse effect if the same thing happens in the future.
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Yes, Hugo. I agree. The same thing, only worse, happened in Towyn. Basically the sea wall went down, the sea water poured into the village, went around a quarter mile inland and met an obstacle.
Around about 10 years before the water people were concerned about possible flooding in K bay and Towyn. But they were thinking about rain water falling around Llanfair Tel Herne etc which found its way to the sea via I think its called the
A
fon Gele. This peaceful stream winds its way from the middle of Abergele heads half mile inland to Towyn, then onto K Bay until eventually it reached the Clwyd river about a quarter of a lie inland from the Foryd bridge.
So what did they do? They built I think its called a bund the whole way from the Clwyd all the way to Abergele. Its like a high pile of stones and soil piled up to an exact height above sea level. To get the soil they dragged it from the north side of this bund, thereby making a nice large area of low land in which the rain water could have waited, like a resoviour, until the tide went out. So millions of gallons of rain water were safely held for a few hours, the river went down, the sluice gates opened, the rain water went into the river and everybody was happy. Brilliant.
But, but, but. No-one thought of the water coming from the other direction.
So the seawater swept inland. After flooding Towyn it came to a very large surface ditch which stretches from the Abergele side of Towyn, again into the Foryd. Because its not far from the blue bridge it has a pumping station to assist the flow into the river. Powered by electric. The pumping station was soon flooded, all the fuses blew and pumping stopped. For about five days. This ditch, although its very long, deep and wide was no match. I myself saw this level rising as all the water surrounding the bungalows reached it. Took probably around half an hour and it was full, to the brim. So the sea water carried on charging inland and came up to the Afon Gele. But it couldn't get in because of the high, strong bund. So it just sat there, spread into Kinmel Bay, not far off a mile inland, and then over the next two days levelled itself out until it was just short of the A55 behind Pension.
I will never forgive myself for not having a camera. It was comical looking along the top of this bund from Gors Road in Towyn. To the left there were hundreds, maybe thousands of houses, shops, caravans etc with four feet of water (Hugo it got deeper as you went inland. Gors road has a slight incline downward) And to the right, about 20 feet down was a little gentle stream meandering towards the sea. There had been no rain for the previous couple of weeks.
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Just read my post. Sorry, big error. I stated the soil for the bund came from the north i.e. the village. Wrong. It came from the South. I am bound to have confused any readers. So sorry, should have reread it before pressing the button
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Rare footage of 1993 Great Orme floods shows streets turned into river rapids.
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/1993-great-orme-floods-video-12431592 (http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/1993-great-orme-floods-video-12431592)
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Thanks for posting that Steve as I've never seen that video before. There is a house on the corner of Old Road and Ty Gwyn Road ( it was a shop at one time) and that must have taken a pounding in that deluge.
I don't know if the water actually got into the property but if it didn't then the occupier was very lucky indeed.
That same property was affected when the Great Orme had a snow fall and a car skidded by the traffic lights and hit the front door causing structure damage and then the building to be evacuated. I noticed recently that bollards had been placed in front of the building to prevent it happening again. I believe that that was not the first time that the unlucky building had been hit by a car.
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From what I understand, during the snowfall episode the tenant of the house had to be evacuated and it seemed to be ages before the property was back in use. I think the tenant moved elsewhere, as he had had enough of his home being hit by vehicles.!
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I remember going to have a look at the building after The Medz posted about it on here. There was a massive crack by the door and it went all the way up the wall. I bet the guy who lived there at the time had one heck of a shock and I don't blame him for moving out and not coming back.
Hopefully those bollards will stop it happening again
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North Wales basks in unusual February heat - but over 30 years ago it was a very different story. I'm sure that Ormegolf will remember the Towyn floods as at one time we both lived on the same estate. There is a photo on here of Llys Charles where I once lived and also Gors Road. Thank goodness I had moved from Towyn a few years earlier
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/gallery/north-wales-basks-unusual-february-15891482?utm_source=sharebar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sharebar (https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/gallery/north-wales-basks-unusual-february-15891482?utm_source=sharebar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sharebar)
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I'm disappointed the DP didn't mention the cause - the unusually severe North-West wind combined with a high tide which pushed the water over the sea walls.
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North Wales basks in unusual February heat - but over 30 years ago it was a very different story. I'm sure that Ormegolf will remember the Towyn floods as at one time we both lived on the same estate. There is a photo on here of Llys Charles where I once lived and also Gors Road. Thank goodness I had moved from Towyn a few years earlier
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/gallery/north-wales-basks-unusual-february-15891482?utm_source=sharebar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sharebar (https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/gallery/north-wales-basks-unusual-february-15891482?utm_source=sharebar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sharebar)
Towyn flood victim says recent extreme weather is 'wake up call' on anniversary of 1990 disaster
Thousands of people were evacuated and left homeless when floods hit the North Wales coast 32 years ago
Last week, North Wales escaped catastrophe amid warnings from experts about the impending threat of flooding across the region.
Coastal communities were spared from major disaster but for some, the extreme conditions of storms Dudley, Eunice, and Franklin served as a reminder of the devastating floods which hit the region 32 years ago.
On February 26, 1990, a severe weather system hit North Wales and a combination of gale force winds and high Spring tide caused severe flooding along the coast.
Without warning, the sea wall at Towyn buckled and waves ripped into thousands of homes, permanently changing the lives of all involved.
The major disaster saw 2,800 homes flooded and more than 5,000 people evacuated and remains a reminder of the power of Mother Nature.
On the anniversary of one of North Wales' worst natural disasters, we look back at the event which shaped the way we view flooding here in North Wales.
cont/ photo gallery https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/towyn-flood-victim-says-recent-23213063?IYA-mail=a05105fc-304d-4c50-9807-edab51f779a4 (https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/towyn-flood-victim-says-recent-23213063?IYA-mail=a05105fc-304d-4c50-9807-edab51f779a4)
PS For information about how to register for flood alerts in the Towyn and Kinmel Bay area, click here. https://your-biz.org/ (https://your-biz.org/)
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I lived in Towyn from 1970 to 1979 so I left before my bungalow was flooded. Apparently the water was about 3 to 4 feet deep in the property
While I was living there the roads on the sea side of the main road were flooded a few times and I've seen people in Sandbank Road rescued by rowing boats. Just by sheer luck the water was prevented from coming into our estate by the camber in the main coast road.
We were the lucky ones and I'm sorry for all those that were affected by the floods
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Remembering 1993 'storm of century' that ravaged Llandudno
A powerful deluge caused massive flooding and forced 3,000 people to be evacuated from their homes
A powerful storm dealt a costly blow on North Wales in 1993, decimating the coastal town of Llandudno. Described as the "storm of the century", flood waters left residents of Llandudno marooned causing millions of pounds worth of damage.
cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/nostalgia/remembering-1993-storm-century-ravaged-23478313?IYA-mail=a05105fc-304d-4c50-9807-edab51f779a4 (https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/nostalgia/remembering-1993-storm-century-ravaged-23478313?IYA-mail=a05105fc-304d-4c50-9807-edab51f779a4)
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This footage of the floods taken at the top of Old Road near the traffic lights gives a good idea of how bad these floods were. The floods were caused due to the excessive amount of rain and had nothing whatsoever to do with sea defences as some people may have thought
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlIJ3vmlcP4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlIJ3vmlcP4)
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I have a 'book' of people's experiences on that night, this was before we moved here, but I believe the water came in through the back and out of the front doors of our house. People doing major alterations in the area don't seem to think about the ferocity of the water when a storm hits. Since we came to live here my OH made a flood barrier to fit the back gate which slows the speed of the water.
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I made a video diary at the time and was later asked to loan it to the council so I am assuming there was a copy made and kept today by Conwy Archives Service.
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Today is the 30th Anniversary.
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Unlike the devastating floods in Towyn, the Llandudno floods were caused by a freak rain storm and I never realised just how much of Llandudno was affected by the floodwater until I spoke to someone who lived in Liddell Park whose house had been affected by the floods
The way climate change is happening the same thing may happen in the future
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlIJ3vmlcP4