After the Deluge: A Year on from the Floods

Last winter flooding devastated lives and homes across the north.

This is a story of resilience. Of anger. We were told we were not a

priority, go move your stuff upstairs, you're going flood. And

how the people of Cumbria and Lancashire regrouped and rebuilt.

Open! As Storm Desmond approaches, Cumbria

police declare a major incident. Stop! Residents in Carlisle are

bracing themselves. I am thinking the worst really. The water has

breached the city's flood defences. I need to speak to this old couple.

We've got a drain in our back garden. It's coming up through the

drain in our back garden rather quickly I don't want you to stand

out in the cold. Alright. Some people are grabbing what they can

and leaving. Not much we can do really. Just get out. Others plan to

sit it out. It's just been a bit hectic and my mam's not wanting to

move. She didn't even want me moving the stuff up stairs. It's reaching

my feet! Methodist Minister Johnny Gios

captures life as a modern-day Noah on his phone. This is absolutely

bonkers. The floodwater on Sandilands Road is three foot at

least. We are at a house in Sandilands Road where we are going

carry two children to the church for safety. Are you ready, Chris? This

is the community coming together isn't it. Unbelievable. Never ever

seen anything like this. Stay away from Kendall, that's all I can say.

30 miles away Sue cash more has retreat upstairs. Well, here we are,

a repeat of 2009. Just five foot of water in the house at the moment,

but I'm sat up here in the dark, candlelight, with my little dog.

Fortunately this time, unfortunately this time no insurance. I don't know

what we are going to do. Across the north, floods wreak havoc.

Daylight and scenes of flooding on a biblical scale.

Part of the A 591, the main road through the Lakes, is no longer. The

250-year-old bridge that gave Pooley Bridge its name is gone.

For Ron and Denise, salvation comes from the RNLI. I'll take your bag.

And questions are being asked. We were told that it was going to be

after these defences it was a once in a 250 year event. And here we are

ten years later, ?38 million and ten years later, a bit of a waste of

money I think. Homes are wrecked and so too are businesses. Something's

going to have to hangs because every time it rains we are all going to be

mad panicking. There was 21 when I opened this salon. Sorry. I worked

really hard. But it isn't over. Three weeks later

on Boxing Day Lancashire feels the brunt. Sue Proctor's garden centre

isn't insured for flooding. It were gushing. It were just like a river

coming through. All the car park were filled up. It happened so quick

really, as the river's come in it's taken palettes down, shelves over,

all the things were going through the door. The glass is cracking in

the greenhouse. With the force of the water at the side of the cafe,

and basically it were just like sheer devastation. We built it up

and yeah, it's just like heartbreaking really to lose it all

down the river. The big clean-up begins, rebuilding

lives will take much longer. A huge chunk of Alan's garden has been

swept away. How water so strong could have ripped the whole of the

bank away, it was river bank plus the garden, and taken it all the way

Down Under the bridge. I think flooding is going to be here to stay

and I think there's going to be a lot more water coming. It started

coming in through the front and quickly filling up the back, because

we've got quite a slope here. I don't know if you can see right into

the back garden but right up to the back step there the level was the

same all the way through the garden. We had about three feet of water all

the way through the shop. The rain will continue as another band of

rain pushes down from the north-west late morning. Again, that is likely

to get heavy in places... There is no let-up. Storms continue to batter

the north. Heavy and persistent spells of rain overnight and

throughout the day tomorrow... Glenridding has flooded four times.

Andrew, who runs an outdoor shop, is at the end of his tether. Since the

start of September it's been storm after storm after storm. Just as you

are getting on top of it, another storm comes, fills the beck up with

more water and we have more sleepless nights. It's been ongoing

for eight weeks now. And there are few customers around. Here's my cash

book. There's a lot of days with no figures here. Didn't take anything

there, nothing there, nothing there. It's not happy reading. It's not. In

the heart of the Lakes it is eerily quiet, with the A 591 closed

Grasmere finds itself at the end of the line. I've only made 26 trays of

gingerbread today and I shall be finished at 11 o'clock, whereas

normally certainly in the summer we are baking all day every day. We are

having to scale it back considerably unfortunately. At the gingerbread

shop, three people have lost their jobs, takings are down 20 grand in

one month alone. What we are suffering with now is the perception

of Cumbria as a whole is closed for business, which it quite clearly

isn't. We are very much open. Open!

CHEERING. Music to the ears of people in Pooley Bridge, they are

reconnected. And then after three... CHEERING. And the main road through

the Lakes is back in action. This is an exciting occasion isn't it, it is

one of those first signs that Cumbria is beginning to turn the

corner after some of the tragedy, difficulty and darkness of the last

few months. It is a tremendous occasion and one that everybody will

welcome. Remember for a very long time. It's great for the business

and for the area. Really pleased. This is the first one in Warwick

Road to be offered. Lot 5, 85 to start. The auction in Cumbria is

packed as 12 flooded houses are on offer, some listed at half their

pre-flood value. 86, 88, 88 bid. 90. 92. And everyone is looking to snap

up a bargain. If not I'm selling this at ?94,000. All done, all

out... Well done, air. Dave has bought a four bedroom house for

?94,000. If I renovated it and it flooded again the very next day I

would be in there knocking the plaster off, pulling the kitchen

out. I would do it myself. I stand to potentially lose a few thousand

pounds in materials but the potential for it to go up in value

again in future is far outweighs the possible loss. Our biggest problem

at the moment is there are hundreds of properties and there are only so

many tradesmen. Clive's flat, which he rents out, is right next to the

new flood defences and he had no insurance cover. As a landlord he

can't get affordable inSean, so he is looking to sell. I can

categorically say if I was able to get some flood insurance in the

future I wouldn't be auctioning the flat. I would be doing it up and

putting it out for a tenant again. ?43,000, first time, second time,

44, new bid per. 45, 46, 47. Half I will take, 46-and-a-half,

47-and-a-half? You nodded your headfirst and then shook it. Let me

tell you, you might buy it. It might not! You don't know until you try.

47 with you, sir. Fourth and final time selling. Are you sure? Well

done, Sir. It went very well, as you can see by the smile on my face. Yes

I got more than nay reserve by ?3,000. It went for ?47,000 and my

reserve was ?44,000, so I'm very pleased. It's been a bit of a worry

but someone else's worry now. 200 sleeps since Storm Desmond.

Tessa has made it back home. And it's Heaven. Honestly, the simple

little things, being able to sit on your own sofa, and go to your own

bed, and go to our own bathroom, use your own shower. But the stress of

the floods has taken its toll. I don't mind admitting that last night

I was in tears on the sofa going, it's great, I'm home, but is it only

going to be for six months? Will we be lucky?

Tessa's business also flooded and she had only minutes to save what

she could from home. Loaded, our two motorbikes into the van, with the

cat, my son, his favourite guitar, with an overnight bag and off we

drove to my dad's. I have CCTV in the shop, I dialled in and watched

my shop go under water. These are screwed to the wall but you can

easily pull them forward when they are empty and get behind and watch

them. The base units are all moveable. Sue, who was trapped

upstairs, has made radical changes to her house. It means in another

flood I can just bring my pressure washer in and wash the kitchen out,

get my life back quickly. That's the aim. Last year she couldn't afford

the insurance for her house but thanks to a new scheme called Flood

Re, she has cover. This is a starting point, a first step on the

ladder, so I am thrilled that it has happened.

But work has only started on Christine's rented house. Everyone

on this row, they are all old aged pensioners. It has made a lot of

them till, with having to put up with everything, not knowing what's

happening. It is final in limbo. We are now in our, what, 8th month? And

we were nowhere near it. We just don't know, and it is beginning to

get us down. If I didn't have my work, I think I would end up being

in hospital by now. It's just so heartbreaking. Yeah.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming this evening.

The frustrations of flooding for a second time in six years boil over

at a public meeting. When we told it was a one in 100

year flood and we were right next to the flood defences, we were told we

were not a priority, go and move your stuff upstairs, you are going

to flood. Put defences up. Shut up when I'm speaking... Let all the

water come on to Derwent gardens and riverside Terrace. For the man in

charge of Cumbria's flood defences it's been a torrid year. The people

here in this room have suffered hellish misery yet again having been

there before. It is quite fair and reasonable for them to turn up and

be both interested and curious about what is going on and what could go

on and to be challenging of us and others to ensure we are doing the

best for them here in this town. Out and about, Andy knows he's got

his work cut out to win over the doubters.

Work is going on to clear the rivers ahead of the winter. Everyone is

keen to see progress. That's cleared. What will happen is we're

going to be worried this year, at Christmas, when this water comes,

that enough is... Like many across flooded areas, Allen believes silted

rivers and blocked bridges caused much of the damage. We didn't have

Christmas last year. With the worry that bridge will allow as much to

get through as can. The puddle was formed because it couldn't get under

there. As I say County Council will start this week. When they have done

their work we will be there and clearing out the channel. You are

going to clear out under there. Spot on.

What caused all these problems is that bridge. However these educated

people try to tell us that it wasn't, we have seen it first-hand.

We experienced it. A Flood Re port earlier this year

recommended ways to improve flow under the bridge should be

investigated. In Cockermouth, much to the relief

of the locals, dredging of the river has started. We're doing this

because it is the right thing to do. We're doing it mindful that it is

reair suring to the public. That is why we're doing it as publically as

we can to show we are doing this work, why and where we're doing it.

Evidence of flooding is easy to spot.

Just over here on the right-hand side on this tree, you can see a

blue ribbon is around the tree. That is marking, it has been put on by a

community group to show how high the water got. They were rightly very

keen that as the weeks and months passed that people shouldn't forget

how bad things got. But for Tessa, who has moved in back

at home, there's been a change of heart.

It was delightful to get home, but it felt like it was on borrowed

time. When it starts raining again, will it happen again? It is just

psychologically I knew I couldn't deal with that and go through it

again. We made the decision we have to sell up, so we did. Not that

we've got ?70,000 to throw away. To me, I couldn't go through that

again. It was a no-brainer. Walk away, it's not my problem any more.

Allen is definitely staying put. But taking matters into his own hands.

With all the protection I've put in, that's the rock, the flood boards

are going on the front and these pumps in each doorway entrance, we

should stand a good chance of it not going through the same impact as we

have on boxing day. Let's hope so. Welcome, everyone. Thank you so much

for giving your Friday up, whether it is a morning a couple of hours...

Johnnie from the Methodist Church is not waiting for divine intervention.

He's found people to perform a minor miracle.

We are just helping out paint this house and help the people get back

on their feet, really. People are still in their houses.

Whereas we go back to our nice warm houses. We want them to be in theirs

as well. They're getting on very quickly. Quicker than what I thought

they would. They're doing well. I heard about this opportunity.

Jumped at the chance, thought, we'll do whatever we want them to do. Is

so, it is this lovely lady's garden. I didn't know where to start. I

looked, I thought I don't know where to start. It is fantastic.

Even the Bishop of Penrith is out again to lift the spirits. This is a

gift from the local community. It's been a bit of a rough time recently.

I wanted to bring a little bit of joy and smile into people's lives.

Oh, thanks very much. A bowl of flowers. My wife will love that.

Ours got washed away. Thank you very much. You are very welcome. Would

you like me to leave it outside? That is really nice. Thank you.

Andrew from the gingerbread shop is looking to the future.

From the first day that the road had reopened it's not skipped a beat. As

I always said, every day counted. And I was proven right. From the

first day we hit target and we've not missed beats since then.

The record won't be broken today. It is too slippy up. They have run

well. Here they come. What a fantastic finish!

A lot of good features. Nothing draft. Nothing gymicy. I am down on

last year, but not massively down. People in February were coming in

saying they would get a pair of gloves and socks to support us. If

they needed them or not, just to help us out. It has been a good year

this year - people keen to support us. It's been good.

Since we got refurbished it has been great. It seems the shop is lighter

in colour. People have noticed us more. Probably helped we had quite a

lot of publicity for the village. Thicks have been good. Better than

before -- things have been good. Better than before, I would say. It

is classed in the region of ?30,000. More. You cannot put a definite

price on it because of the amount of stuff we lost. It was a bit quiet to

start with when we first reopened. People obviously thought we were

still shut. Overall, we've been OK. Autumn, and plenty of colour in the

lakes. It is great to welcome all these

visitors to our village. It's lovely. Really good.

To see everybody get together like this again, to see Pooley Bridge

full again, it is fantastic. It is lovely to see so many people

here on such a positive occasion. Having had so much trauma over the

last year. It is just wonderful to get people

to the village, isn't it? Involved in something like. This. The weather

stayed great for us. After a year of hard work and heartbreak for some,

one thought is never far away. Something needs to be done with the

flood defences now. Or we could be standing here next Christmas with

four feet of water, or maybe six feet of water.

I remember looking out the window watching the river come up and up

and up. Every time it rains I do dread it.

It is a worry. You don't know if it will happen again. If it happens

again, I don't think we can survive this time.

People who didn't talk to each other, next door neighbours, talk to

each other, ask how they are doing, look out for each other. In people's

minds and attitude, the flood is still around and reminders of that

flood are still around. My son said to me the other day, do

you think we'll have a Christmas tree this year. That's like, wow!

Yeah, hopefully.