`St Ives Floods (Again)..

Once again, St Ives in Cornwall (one of my favourite places) has endured a night of flooding following torrential rain. The full details are here

A flood defence scheme has recently been introduced following the disastrous flood of November 2002 which saw water surge down into the main streets and cause widespread damage.

What happens is that heavy rain on the moors behind the town sweeps down into the town down a series of rivulets and streams which head out to the sea. The sheer volume of water and debris backs these up and the water surges into the streets finding any route possible down to the sea.

The lowest-lying areas at the bottom of Tregenna Hill seem to have escaped this time with the worst problems further up Albany Terrace and The Stennack suggesting the defence system worked well but the water simply went elsewhere.

The B3306, the coastal road between St Ives and St Just, crosses a number of small rivers and streams and it appears one of these, in full flood, caused the road to collapse. It's a very well-used road in summer and great fun to drive in bad weather.

Zennor is also the last place to be at 9.40pm on election day without a torch !! :)