TORRENT: Sheffield's Flood Story | FULL DOCUMENTARY! | Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust

Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust presents 'TORRENT', a full-length feature offering an in-depth exploration of Sheffield’s tumultuous history with flooding, chronicling events from the devastating Great Sheffield Flood of 1864 to the more recent floods of 2007, 2019, and 2022.
Discover the stories behind these significant events as 'TORRENT' brings them to life through historical records, personal accounts, and expert insights. The documentary not only delves into the past but also looks toward the future, examining the innovative solutions being developed to mitigate flood risks and enhance environmental sustainability in the region.
Key Features of 'TORRENT':
Comprehensive Coverage: From the breach of Dale Dyke Dam in 1864, which led to the Great Sheffield Flood, to the impactful floods of the 21st century, 'TORRENT' provides a detailed chronology of these events and their effects on the community and landscape.
Expert Opinions: Hear from local historians, environmental experts, and those at the forefront of flood management as they share their perspectives on Sheffield's flood history and the lessons learned.
Collaborative Efforts: Learn about the combined initiatives of Sheffield City Council, the Environment Agency, and Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust in implementing natural solutions for flood prevention, biodiversity enhancement, and environmental well-being.
Community Stories: Engage with the personal narratives of those who experienced these floods first-hand, offering a human dimension to the historical and environmental data.
About Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust:
As a guardian of Sheffield and Rotherham's natural heritage, Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust is committed to protecting and enhancing the region's environment. Our work is multifaceted, involving:
Wildlife Conservation: Managing 15 nature reserves, including notable sites like Greno Woods, Wyming Brook, Blacka Moor, Centenary Riverside, and Kilnhurst Ings.
Community Engagement: Delivering educational programs and activities to inspire people of all ages about nature and the outdoors.
Advocacy: Standing up for wildlife and green spaces under threat, and empowering others to take action for nature.
Research and Projects: Implementing projects like natural flood risk management schemes on the Rother and tracking the return of otters along the River Don.
Commissioning and Support:
'TORRENT' was commissioned by the Sheffield Lakeland Landscape Partnership and Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust, and originally premiered at Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust's 'Working with Water' film night at Showroom Workstation in Sheffield. The production of this documentary was made possible through the funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, supported by and thanks to National Lottery players.
Special Acknowledgements:
Tom Rolley Videography for the creation of this insightful documentary.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund and its players for their generous support.
Get Involved:
Your involvement can make a significant difference in our collective efforts to protect our natural world and create sustainable communities. Visit our website to learn more about our projects, volunteer opportunities, and ways to support our cause: www.wildsheffield.com
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[@AppelleDesign]

Well done, I wish there were more local documentaries like this. I'm relatively new to Sheffield so good to catch up.

[@mikedavies1540]

Excellent video, nicely mixing history with the present day solutions.

[@Voodoo_Ray]

Brings back memories of 2007. We were called out as part of the wider response sending personnel to Deepcar, Winn Gardens, Hillsborough, the Wicker and later assisted in the evacuation of Catcliffe and Central Rotherham particularly around Erskine Road

[@andyr5579]

A good watch for the folk of Sheffield! And maybe everyone downstream….

[@AndrewVickersArt]

A really informative video of a part of British history that is not really talked about today outside of the local area. We actually carved both a memorial stone that is up at Dale Dyke & A memorial wall in the Loxley valley where the flood water came through.

[@yorkiegilly4355]

You don"t need a land warden or a engineer to see what the problems were in both major floods ,the one in the 19th the "experts " had blinkers on after most of the woods over & above the Dams were chopped down for fields full of grass to graze the 1000s of sheep ,on top of the couldn"t care less attitude especially as the first signs of trouble was spotted by the public . The Malin Hotel is my local ,there is a plaque on the wall that shows where the water came - up to ! read on and it names the Publican and his wife & family who died that night ,some bodies were found in Doncaster . When I was a kid they used to dredge the river ,especially at it"s worst behind Nursery Street in the City center ,they used to have races on that stretch of river for the Sheffield "Rag Week " run by the University ,but over the decades it became clogged with trees and rubbish ,with large trees growing in the mainstream and in the winter clogged with oil drums and other large debris ,common sense told you it wasn"t good ?. You can spot in the video piles of driftwood on the river banks and behind the bridges framework ,the council will never learn ?. Nice job tho on the Video and background talk .

[@Shanghai_Knife_Dude]

Exactly. Adding 5 layers of bricks on top is called "renewing the flood scheme". I bet that 5 layers of bricks costs millions.

[@briancooper562]

One of the things that could be done on the lower Don is to create (over time) a river like embankment (London and Paris) which contains reservoir(s) of clean water. The would enable two functions, clean water supply and flood defense if included with areas that can be flooded safely during floods (something they are trying in Holland).

[@AlexMitchell-sj4sb]

I live at Malin Bridge. It's hard to imagine now that torrent of water sweeping down through here in 1864.

[@ronnyrobinson79]

Great video thanks

[@martinbrannan2803]

Interesting. I remember it raining all day in 2007 but I didn't see any flooding near me only on the television.

[@bridgetdoman1386]

I was working at Royal Mail next to the bus station, lower than the city centre and not very far from the Wicker yet there was no flooding where we were even though next to a river. Weird.

[@lucyevison-birks1012]

Used this video to show my 10yo about local history for his Home Ed project

[@PaulTaylor80]

Should have included the Victorian drainage system aka megatron that was built in the 19th century and is situated in the city centre. Very interesting video though.

[@ShinobeNinjaMonk]

Highest levels of water ever in 2022 a hosepipe ban came in the effect in summer. isn't there some way of holding on to some of the winter water for summer

[@PF-gi9vv]

Lets face it, its not helping when we are importing foreigners to an already increasing city. The last reservoir built near Sheffield was over 100 years ago supplying water to a far less population. All we hear from sheeple in Sheffield is "climate change caused this problem, the telly said".

[@weejackrussell]

The man didn't say "flowing up top" he said: "Flowing over't top" ie. flowing over the top. The other man said "my great, great, great grandmother was called Elizabeth..." not "my great, great, great grandmother was killed Elizabeth Green"! You need a Sheffielder to help you with your subtitling otherwise you will misrepresent what people have said! We have a rich dialect and it needs to be properly subtitled. Apart from this it was a very good and interesting video. My great grandfather was saved from drowing in the first flood described and another great, great grandfather claimed compensation due to his business being ruined by it. The business was very close to Kelham Island. I laugh when I hear that Kelham Island is supposed to be one of the trendiest places in the world to live. Will people say that when it next floods? Only time will tell. The flood in 2007 - it took me eight hours to get home in that flood, the same journey the next day took 15 minutes.

[@bridgetdoman1386]

As I'm watching this now, the anniversary of the flood of 11 March 1864. It always gets to me how, for some reason, these disasters mostly happen at night - look at the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria as an example.

[@zena4219]

In 2022 I was on Sheffield but I saw the flood but I was in a high place called Gleadless

[@pauljenkinson1452]

This happened in the Dalton Minimum and the reason for this is Grand Solar Minimums causes cooling of the polar regions pushing the Jetstream closer to the equator and so more land (especially in the Northern Hemisphere) into the cooler side of the Jetstream hence more rain, wind and snow. Grand Solar Minimums have a weakening of the Jetstream and this can lead to persistent high pressure blocking causing stalled weather patterns. This also caused the Great Flood of 1315 and the loss of food production. The solution is for communities to start up resilience programmes especially for essentials such as food. We are now in a natural cooling phase and the current Grand Solar Minimum is called the "Eddy Minimum".

[@norwichhouse]

There is a memorial in Mexborough Churchyard to two people washed down to there.

[@justinshore5566]

The solutions sound obvious to me and the question in my mind throughout is why are we not harnessing this natural power all over the city for electricity?

[@retrorambles517]

I'm no expert but is there enough of it on a constant basis?

[@justinshore5566]

@@retrorambles517 me neither but logically where there's a dam surely there's the ability to generate power?

[@retrorambles517]

@@justinshore5566 I suppose it depends I mean look at the summer drought , so maybe like most renewables it's not very reliable But maybe in certain areas it could help to power local communities

[@PF-gi9vv]

@@retrorambles517 Electric is mostly needed in winter time and theres more water at that time. Its would be very useful to use that water in the dark cold nights.

[@onlineo2263]

These rivers fund at less than 5% of there flood level most of the year. All the dams currently in place are just for reservoirs to provide drinking water. I'm sure there is a way to harness some of the water power safely and efficiently, but I'm not sure how.

[@BritinSchleswig]

Yorkshire Water could remove thousands of tons of silt build up from the Reservoirs that has built up over decades. The capacity increase would then lessen the chances of another 2007 event.

[@billygillan821]

Really interesting and sad,but it wasn't just human lives lost or affected,hundreds of animals lives were lost because of mistakes cause by prominent men that's lives are lost,but sadly even to day with M.P' make mistakes there sorry and say will learn ,they never do,and don't get punished.

[@GnusmassStrong-xj2bc]

We lost 3 òut our family Snape.s

[@yorkshirelad3524]

By gum this global boiling is a rum do

[@chrisnumnuts8671]

will beavers help

[@johngibson3837]

Bit young mate probably scout's or guide's would be more sensible

[@matthewsprague7674]

​@@johngibson3837😂