THE 1952 LYNMOUTH FLOOD DISASTER.

The 1952 Flood in Lynton and surrounding Area was one of the worst natural (or was it?) disasters that Devon has ever seen.The first two weeks in August 1952 had been the wettest for years, over 6"(4 months rain fell in just 2 weeks) of rain had fallen in that short time and the ground all across Exmoor was saturated and full to the brim. As a result the small streams that fed both the East & West Lyn rivers were bursting their banks and swelling the rivers to virtual bursting point.
One Author tells that at around 4PM on the 15th the sky over the village was so dark that Shops, houses and street lights had to be turned on, local residents were alarmed and concerned about an unnaturally large Black and Purple cloud that hung unmoving directly overhead, this heavy Cumulus cloud was said to resemble the beginning of an Atom Bomb, with heavy rain cascading from its base. Onlookers said that what made it even stranger was that above and around it was beautiful Blue sky. The owner of the local Lyndale hotel reported that by late ( now 9" of rain had fallen) that afternoon the flooding had started, with his hotel having rainwater that had risen to the height of his reception desk running right through the Hotel. During the night and early morning of 15/16th further heavy rain fell, and at around 2 AM on the 16th all hell broke loose. High on Exmoor the two Lyn rivers (that converge in the centre of Lynmouth) were by now bursting their banks and totally out of control, they were moving huge 3-4 ton boulders and Eroding huge up to 20ft pieces of bank. At this point I had probably better point out that Lynmouth itself lies in a deep valley, 800 mtrs below Exmoor, so water, as it built up gained enormous momentumon during its descent, the worst consequence of this was that dozens of huge trees some 30-35 feet high were pulled down . These trees and boulders were carried down the rivers virtually blocking them as they reached bridges causing them to dam. The build up behind these bridges got bigger and bigger as the Debris was carried into them, each bridge in turn held back the waters until they could hold on no longer then collapsed, as each bridge was destroyed the mountain of water progressively got larger and larger until when it swept through the village it was nearly 30ft (approx 10meters) high and travelling at over 30MPH. The rivers lost or damaged over 30 bridges during these floods. When the flood waters died down 34 people had died, more than 35 dwellings destroyed, a further 55 others seriously damaged and a 1,000 people were left homeless. Also lost were 20 odd cars, 2 Lorries, a Coach and 4 Caravans. The causes for this property devastation were mainly twofold the sheer weight of water containing these boulders and trees hitting property, then the undermining and eroding of the ground on which these were built, due mostly to the fact that a lot were built on erodible drift deposits. What made the loss of life much worse was that early August is in the main holiday season so people numbers were swollen to over 1,000 people when the norm is around 450. Overall 1700 victims were paid damages, these were paid from the North Devon and West Somerset relief fund. Public generosity of Physical help, money,Food, Blankets, Clothing and even around 140 caravans to house victims was incredible.
Below, this is the headline from the local Western Morning News Paper on the 50th Anniversary of the disaster.Please Click on any picture to enlarge and perhaps read the print.
I must thank the Lynmouth Flood museum for these pictures which Sue retook. This museum really is a must when visiting this beautiful village The picture below is the list of deceased in this tragedy.
This picture we took into a cabinet (a bit of reflection I'm afraid) to try and show how low in the valley Lynmouth is.
This picture is of the village as the clean up gets under way.
Below the power of nature is almost unbelievable until you see pictures like these.
Below, Just look at the old car swept away by the water, if you owned that now it would be worth good money.
Below, because the huge wave hit in the early hours most of its victims were tucked up in bed at the time.
This old picture (below) was damaged but was one of only a few showing the waters while still very high so I considered it worth showing.

Below when looking at this picture it is hard to believe that this area was once clear with not a boulder in sight.

Rumours of this "Freak"Weather being "Man Created" have dogged this tragedy all along. Probably because from around 1945 to 1955 the Government were dabbling with Cloud Seeding which comprised of spraying (by Aircraft) Silver Iodide on the top of cloud to try to produce rain, (which it did with varied success). Even today there is still controversy over it, did that happen? it is still a possibility, as by some strange coincidence the Government have mislaid the records on this experiment for ......wait for it........yep 1952. The link below will definitely make you think but if you do an Internet search you will find plenty more links.




http://www.lyntonandlynmouth.org.uk/flood/index.htm
Joke of the day.

WIFE,What would you do if I died?.

Would you get married again?.

HUSBAND:
Definitely not!

WIFE:
Why not - don't you like being married?

HUSBAND:
Of course I do.

WIFE:
Then why wouldn't you remarry?

HUSBAND:
Okay, I'd get married again.

WIFE:
You would? (With a hurtful look on her face).

HUSBAND:
(Makes audible groan).

WIFE:
Would you live in our house?

HUSBAND:
Sure, it's a great house.

WIFE:
Would you sleep with her in our bed?

HUSBAND:
Where else would we sleep?

WIFE:
Would you let her drive my car?

HUSBAND:
Probably, it is almost new.

WIFE:
Would you replace my pictures with hers?

HUSBAND:
That would seem like the proper thing to do.

WIFE:
Would she use my golf clubs?

HUSBAND:
No, she's left-handed.

WIFE:
- silence - -

HUSBAND:

SH*T ....