Walsden and Todmorden Floods 2013

In what seems to be turning into an annual event, Monday saw a day of almost continuous thunderstorms and heavy rain, with a slight break at about 4pm during which I managed to go for a run. I turned round early because I could see a large black extra big storm cloud approaching and didn’t want to get caught out running exposed on the treeless high roads and fells in the lightning. When I returned I watched in surprise as the storm gathered and circled round and round Todmorden with hail and torrential rain. The steeper road that I live on became a brown river, and I hurried down to Jim’s house in the valley to check. As I did so the flood sirens started to sound and I found Jim’s yard full of water which I swept out. I have never brushed water with a broom before, – it works very well. Meanwhile, other homes not so lucky were receiving another dose of mud and flood, businesses that had only just recovered from last years inundations were back to square one again, and a mile down the road, at Walsden a particularly big torrent broke the road, leaving cars suspended above gaping holes, and swept a resident down the street and onto the railway line