Cumbria Floods November 2009
Overview & meteorological circumstances
Between Wednesday 18th November and Friday 20th November up to 372mm of rain fell over Cumbria. In the 24 hours ending 00:45 on Friday 20th 314mm of rain fell in Seathwaite. This is a record daily rainfall for the UK. The air mass responsible for this rainfall was formed in south tropics where unusually high sea surface temperatures ensured that the air was particularly rich in moisture. The air mass tracked north as part of a “warm conveyor”. As the air was blown over the Cumbrian fells it cooled causing the moisture to condense and begin to fall as rain. The warm conveyor remained over the fells for a period of 36 hours maintaining a steady downpour resulting in the exceptional rainfall levels. Rain earlier in the week ensured that the ground was already saturated in many areas. Flooding occurred in 5 of Cumbria’s 6 district areas, the only one escaping being Barrow. The effect on properties was concentrated in Allerdale and South Lakeland with most significant infrastructure damage occurring in the former district. The picture below outlines the causes and effects of the heavy rainfall in Allerdale (Source: New Civil Engineer (26th November 2009)
Summary of the impact - numbers of properties
- A total of 2,239 properties throughout Cumbria flooded (this figure is based on information including emergency service records, Council Tax lists, property use database, local Council inspections, a database of members of the public reporting their properties as flooded and local knowledge).
- 1,794 (80.1%) were residential properties; and
- 445 (19.9%) were commercial
- 1,721 properties, (76.9% of the total) were in Allerdale;
- 402, (18.0%) in South Lakeland;
- 79 (3.5%) in Eden;
- 22 (1%) in Copeland; and
- 15 (0.7%) in Carlisle
For more detailed information and a picture of the full impact, please follow the link to assessment report below.
Cumbria Floods November 2009 Impact Assessment: 18 March 2010
These are the PowerPoint presentations from the "After the rain has gone - lessons from 2007 recovery research" conference at Rheged, Penrith, on 24 March 2010.
- Cumbria Floods November 2009 - Presentation by Dan Bloomer, Cumbria County Council
- Hull Floods Presentation by Donald Read
- Floods Presentation - Hugh Deeming, Lancaster Unversity
- Floods Presentation - Ian Convrey, University of Cumbria
- Floods Presentation - Jeff Warburton, Natural Environment Research Council
- Floods Presentation - Marion Walker, Hull Children's Flood Project
- Floods Presentation - Rebecca Whittle, Lancaster University
You can find more information on the Cumbria County Council website by following the links below, including help and advice on the following issues:
- Business advice and information;
- Flood Bulletins;
- Factsheets;
- Roads and bridge information;
- Travel information;