Hebden Bridge Floods

[@paulketchupwitheverything767]

Good explanation of why Hebden Bridge has been prone to flooding recently. The town gets mentioned in the news, but I was interested to find out more of what causes it to happen. The ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures were useful. I know it’s not simple to do, but a bit more use of the map would have helped me, especially if an overlay or some pointers could highlight where and how the buildup of water typically develops. Thank you.

[@GeogJuice]

Thanks for the feedback Paul.

[@mikekelly6479]

worked on the clean up and restoration in the area and that was just after having just spent a month in Cumbria following floods there and then Leeds got hit too. I remember one guy who had parked up in an underground car park in Leeds by The Calls on boxing day, he realised there was a problem with the weather whilst out shopping so decided to return to his car, the flood waters were around a foot a this time and is car was perfectly ok so drove the car to the exit gate only to find that the gate wouldn't open because the electrics had been flooded. needless to say the car was a right off. But more importantly I remember seeing the devastation for people who had lost everything.

[@GeogJuice]

Thanks for commenting Mike. I remember the Leeds one.

[@johnellis955]

I've seen flooded cars all over the UK - if moved to nearby higher ground there would have been no damage done. People are clueless or just want insurance payouts. In Hebden Bridge a hillside is always just a stones throw away I have walked thousands of miles around there over a 25 year period

[@leathleyg5995]

Someone in a high apartment took a photo of me paddling a boat down East Street in Leeds, waiting for the traffic lights to change. Apparently it was in the YEP next day. Unlike the flood in the Calder Valley, Leeds didn't suffer much to residential properties it was mostly commercial, industrial, and retail properties that were flooded. Whilst the floods around the Calder devastated lives and ruined homes, for Leeds, it was more of an epic adventure. Our family got very little sleep for a couple of days, rescuing everything from stranded vehicles to marooned fish on the banks. Then came Leeds City Council......to "sort" the problem by throwing over £50million at mostly useless flood defences. They couldn't even face the fact they misunderstood how the floods happened. They insisted the Aire had "burst its banks".... Nope..it didn't. I was there driving up and down from the city centre to Kirkstall a watched it evolve. It was the the surcharge of back pressure sending water back up the badly designed and sited storm drains that brought the water in. The adjustable weirs were a good idea, and could be effective, but sadly they are controlled by LCC, not by anyone who "knows" the river. They wasted tens of millions digging out the Knostrop Cut and other silly ideas, yet did absolutely nothing above the Dark Arches. So....expect to see another 1 in 100 year flood within the next 25...!

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

Nice video explaining the causes of flooding. I think it's also worth mentioning that around the Calder Valley the topsoil is often very shallow indeed, so it holds very little rainfall. As an example, when the houses at Beckett's Close in Heptonstall were built, it was found that bedrock was a mere 13 inches below the surface. Great for foundations that will never shift, NOT great for anyone living lower down !

[@GeogJuice]

Thank you for adding that Kevin

[@leathleyg5995]

Great video

[@GeogJuice]

Thank you