:00:00. > :00:00.the oppression of one by another. The sun shall never set on so
:00:00. > :00:11.glorious a human achievement. Good evening and welcome to BBC Look
:00:12. > :00:15.North, live tonight from the banks of the Humber. Here on Hessle
:00:16. > :00:18.Foreshore are just some of the homes and businesses still clearing up
:00:19. > :00:23.after the flood. The headlines tonight. From the air it's clear to
:00:24. > :00:27.see the damage caused by the biggest tidal surge for more than 60 years.
:00:28. > :00:30.In Boston, sea defences were breached flooding the town centre
:00:31. > :00:45.and forcing 200 people to leave their homes. Totally unprecedented.
:00:46. > :00:49.I have lived in Boston for years and I have never seen the river as high
:00:50. > :00:53.as it is now. In Hull, parts of the city centre were turned into a sea
:00:54. > :00:56.water lake leaving businesses to pick up the pieces. The sea defences
:00:57. > :00:59.protected us from the worst, but already tonight questions are being
:01:00. > :01:08.asked ` were we well enough prepared? No sandbags at all. I rang
:01:09. > :01:16.the council at 4pm, no reply. Nobody knows what to do. No warning. I will
:01:17. > :01:21.be looking at the science behind what it our region and whether it
:01:22. > :01:24.followed the pattern is predicted. We still have the risk of some
:01:25. > :01:26.flooding in coastal areas this evening, but the weather will be
:01:27. > :01:40.much more settled. Tonight homes and businesses across
:01:41. > :01:43.East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are struggling to get back to normal
:01:44. > :01:48.after being hit by the biggest tidal surge for 60 years. Hundreds of
:01:49. > :01:53.people were forced from their homes including several here on Hessle
:01:54. > :01:57.Foreshore. These pictures from this morning show the spot where I'm
:01:58. > :02:02.actually standing now. You can see just how much water there was on the
:02:03. > :02:06.road. This was the scene last night as rescue workers tried to help the
:02:07. > :02:14.people living here in the houses that overlook the Humber. Well, in
:02:15. > :02:18.Hull parts of the city centre this morning looked like a lake as sea
:02:19. > :02:22.water from the Humber flooded into the streets. The main A63 road was
:02:23. > :02:30.closed until lunchtime and all this is a city where the memory of the
:02:31. > :02:38.floods in 2007 are still raw. With more here's our correspondent Paul
:02:39. > :02:46.Murphy. Everyone's desirable Hessle called
:02:47. > :02:58.the slack. Chewed up and spat out by the Humber. It is much brown now,
:02:59. > :03:06.there was no warning here. There was no warning given to residents. All
:03:07. > :03:11.of a sudden, a man came streaming down from Humber Whiskey and said,
:03:12. > :03:20.get out. The speed and ferocity of the tidal surge took everyone by
:03:21. > :03:26.surprise. We were rescuing people from cars.
:03:27. > :03:34.There were 300 cars floating around. Many businesses in Hull were hoping
:03:35. > :03:43.for Christmas shoppers, instead, the court sea water. It is normally the
:03:44. > :03:48.busiest time of the year for us. In Bridlington, even those accustomed
:03:49. > :03:59.to the sea were shocked. See defences were over tops, but most
:04:00. > :04:04.homes escape the water. We are hoping that somebody up there likes
:04:05. > :04:13.us. Then came the now being loss of all power and light in Hull city
:04:14. > :04:16.centre. The lights went out and we could not close the shop, so we had
:04:17. > :04:23.to wait around and by the time we were able to leave, the water was
:04:24. > :04:27.coming up. It came earlier than we expected and before high tide, we
:04:28. > :04:37.had lots of areas of the city breached. With the sea came fish.
:04:38. > :04:45.The Watergate into the hotel, came down the corridor, came into the
:04:46. > :04:49.room is. The road and rail disruption in and out of Hull
:04:50. > :04:57.continued through the morning. The damage to her, even to a sailing
:04:58. > :05:07.club, will run into millions. But it was not a catastrophe. The city's
:05:08. > :05:14.tidal surge barrier did its job. Paul Clark lives in one of the
:05:15. > :05:20.houses behind me. What was it like this time last night? We were in
:05:21. > :05:27.three feet of water. What happened to the properties here? The water
:05:28. > :05:33.rushed up the building. We had about two minutes notice when I spotted
:05:34. > :05:41.the water coming onto the road. We quickly got oceans and towels and
:05:42. > :05:49.blankets and push them at the doors. Our neighbours rallied together and
:05:50. > :05:57.we put one person up overnight. Did you panic? No, but we were in shock.
:05:58. > :06:03.Have some people had to move out and how long for? All the people on the
:06:04. > :06:11.bottom have had to move out, so that is half of the residents. They will
:06:12. > :06:18.probably be gone for six months. And you have lost your car? I looked
:06:19. > :06:24.out of the window at about 8:30pm and my car was floating around in
:06:25. > :06:32.the car back with the other cars. That is horrific. Honestly, there
:06:33. > :06:37.was so much water. It is a right of. The insurance company rang me this
:06:38. > :06:43.morning and said my car would be written off, because it has been
:06:44. > :06:47.flooded. They cannot clean it. Thank you for coming out and talking to us
:06:48. > :06:54.tonight. I'm joined now by Nigel Leighton from East Riding of
:06:55. > :06:58.Yorkshire Council. Are you satisfied you did everything you could to
:06:59. > :07:03.protect people 's homes last night? A lot of preparation was put in
:07:04. > :07:09.place during the course of the day, working along side colleagues in the
:07:10. > :07:17.fire service and the police service. People have said they did not get
:07:18. > :07:22.enough whining. The forecast we were working to suggest it the majority
:07:23. > :07:28.of the problems would be on the South bank and as such, we had to
:07:29. > :07:35.prepare ourselves. You saying you got the wrong information? No, I am
:07:36. > :07:41.seeing the extent of the surge in particular locations was impossible
:07:42. > :07:43.to predict. Many people in Bridlington had their property
:07:44. > :07:53.damaged on the seafront under warranty to know what you can do to
:07:54. > :08:03.help. We're now moving into phase. We're not just talking about one
:08:04. > :08:14.community, there are several. We have several areas to help, as
:08:15. > :08:23.system in the recovery phase. And sandbags? I have had so many
:08:24. > :08:30.messages. Beware prepared with sandbags on our vehicles ready to go
:08:31. > :08:36.to any location. I am not aware of any complaints. We had lots of
:08:37. > :08:45.compliments about the speed of our reaction, given that we did not know
:08:46. > :08:54.where to go at first. Thank you very much. We would like to hear from you
:08:55. > :09:09.if you want to get in touch with your
:09:10. > :09:19.I look forward to hearing from you as always.
:09:20. > :09:22.The Isle of Axeholme may be more than forty miles from the sea, but
:09:23. > :09:26.it's sandwiched between the Humber, the Ouse and the Trent. Last night
:09:27. > :09:30.those living there felt the force of water from all three. Small village
:09:31. > :09:38.communities that worked together to help one another. Simon Spark has
:09:39. > :09:43.their story. This expands of water in the winter
:09:44. > :09:49.and should be farmland, and it is what these horses were grazing on
:09:50. > :09:53.until the storm surge hit. This morning, after being stranded or
:09:54. > :10:03.might, the rescue attempt began. It took these RSPCA officers hours to
:10:04. > :10:12.coax them to safety. Farmers battled for hours are trying to save their
:10:13. > :10:20.stock. You go in and do your best. It was horrendous. Fears of another
:10:21. > :10:27.high tide and another flooding prompted police to knock on the
:10:28. > :10:31.doors of those most at risk. I don't want to go, but my wife wants to
:10:32. > :10:39.go, and it will keep my children happy. Have you slept? No, I have
:10:40. > :10:47.been up all night and I am absolutely shattered. Buses were on
:10:48. > :10:51.stand`by and this was a. Because of the tide had damaged the bank,
:10:52. > :10:56.flooding the houses with immense speed. There is an 8`point gap on
:10:57. > :11:01.the other side of the walls with it is coming under the concrete. This
:11:02. > :11:08.morning, we are expecting the same again. Environment Agency teams
:11:09. > :11:18.built a sand bag barrier, but it was not required. In Scunthorpe, people
:11:19. > :11:28.sought shelter for the second time. We got evacuated by the police at
:11:29. > :11:32.6:30am. This was a nightmare for landlords, for drivers stuck on
:11:33. > :11:36.country roads and four people temporarily seeking shelter
:11:37. > :11:41.elsewhere. It may have been a sleepless night, but it was one of
:11:42. > :11:44.everybody helped each other. In Boston, hundreds of people have been
:11:45. > :11:47.returning to their homes to start the clean up after water surged into
:11:48. > :11:50.the town. Around 200 people spent last night
:11:51. > :11:54.in emergency accommodation and the iconic Boston stump suffered
:11:55. > :12:03.significant damage. Jake Zuckerman reports.
:12:04. > :12:08.As the sun rose over Boston Stump, police and residents watched every
:12:09. > :12:13.level is nervously. High tide passed without further flooding, but for
:12:14. > :12:19.those already affected, the clean`up got underway. Last night was
:12:20. > :12:27.terrible. In ten minutes, our house was full of water. Dirty water.
:12:28. > :12:32.Everything was swimming. This was the scene in Boston last night as
:12:33. > :12:44.the six foot surge topped the town's defences. In total, at around
:12:45. > :12:48.200 properties were flooded. We tried to get sandbags, there were
:12:49. > :12:57.none at all. I rang the council at four o'clock, no reply. Nobody knows
:12:58. > :13:01.what to do. Disaster. This is totally unprecedented. I have lived
:13:02. > :13:08.in Boston for over 20 years and I have never seen the river as high as
:13:09. > :13:12.it is now. Water came in through the west door
:13:13. > :13:20.by the river. Up to about a foot deep. It went out again as quickly
:13:21. > :13:26.as it came in. Our problem is our centres, where our borders are, I
:13:27. > :13:34.have water, so that is a great tool of damage underneath the building.
:13:35. > :13:39.Here there are marks which shall levels of high water during previous
:13:40. > :13:43.clubs. The water level last night was the highest they have ever seen
:13:44. > :13:47.at this point. The other night, emergency services and planners
:13:48. > :13:52.coordinated the response from the command centre in Lincoln. We have
:13:53. > :14:01.been rehearsing for these incidents since the 2007 floods. This is a
:14:02. > :14:06.well rehearsed operation and as far as we can tell, we will do a
:14:07. > :14:12.structured debrief later, but we have done what we rehearsed to do.
:14:13. > :14:17.More than 200 people were evacuated from their homes and spent the night
:14:18. > :14:22.at the barracks in Grantham. I wanted to cry at one point, because
:14:23. > :14:28.I was so scared and I didn't know what to do with the dogs. As
:14:29. > :14:32.floodwaters receded, streets of Boston were left strewn with rubbish
:14:33. > :14:36.and mud. Residents must now clean`up after the worst flooding in 60
:14:37. > :14:39.years. Jake is live in Boston tonight.
:14:40. > :14:43.People are heading back to their homes tonight and starting to clear
:14:44. > :14:46.up, what's the feeling in the town tonight?
:14:47. > :14:53.It is quite a contrast here between the Christmas lights above me and on
:14:54. > :15:02.the ground. The people here who are coming now to clear up. The speed
:15:03. > :15:08.and ferocity of the floodwater took some by surprise, but many people
:15:09. > :15:13.will feel it could have been much worse. 200 homes were flooded, but
:15:14. > :15:18.the experts say if the water had been just four inches higher, there
:15:19. > :15:23.would have been multiple features in the town's flood defences and that
:15:24. > :15:29.would have been far more serious. Earlier today, I spoke to the local
:15:30. > :15:33.MP. He told me this shows how vitally important plans for a new
:15:34. > :15:37.flood barrier for the town are. It says he will be lobbying hard and
:15:38. > :15:42.working to make sure that goes ahead as soon as possible.
:15:43. > :15:54.Thank you very much. We say good evening to those rescued last night.
:15:55. > :16:02.People here have had to move out and they will be out for six months.
:16:03. > :16:06.Amazing night. We have more to come. Still ahead tonight. The science
:16:07. > :16:10.behind what caused the biggest tidal surge for 60 years. And how your
:16:11. > :16:12.pictures told the story of how the floods hit East Yorkshire and
:16:13. > :16:16.Lincolnshire You've been sending your photos of the scene Ross
:16:17. > :16:19.Coupland was in Boston last night as the water flooded into Skirbeck Road
:16:20. > :16:22.he sent these pictures before it became impassable and the road
:16:23. > :16:25.remains closed this evening This morning Lee Beel in South Ferriby
:16:26. > :16:52.took this picture of the damage and standing water.
:16:53. > :17:10.The road remains closed this evening. This morning Lee Beel in
:17:11. > :17:13.South Ferriby took this picture of the damage and standing water. Dave
:17:14. > :17:16.Lascelles in Mablethorpe sent this of the central promenade covered in
:17:17. > :17:28.debris. And this shot of the closed A63 in Hull came from Paul Noble.
:17:29. > :17:39.Really strange this morning wondering around hearing of the
:17:40. > :17:52.silence. It is normally very noisy. Let's get the weather forecast.
:17:53. > :18:01.Check the Environment Agency website for specific details. This weekend,
:18:02. > :18:09.the weather should improve. Largely tried with sunny spells. `` largely
:18:10. > :18:24.dry`mac. This evening, and outbreaks of rain
:18:25. > :18:31.and there could be sweet and wet snow, mainly over the hills. That is
:18:32. > :18:37.going to give us a risk of icy stretches. Tomorrow morning, the sun
:18:38. > :18:54.will rise just after 8am. Watch out for PC stretches.
:18:55. > :18:59.Temperatures will rise through the day. Decent spells of sunshine
:19:00. > :19:12.across Lincolnshire, just the risk of the occasional shower.
:19:13. > :19:18.Temperatures improving. The breeze is fairly moderate from the
:19:19. > :19:23.south`west. High pressure continues to dominate. Temperatures rising to
:19:24. > :19:38.11 degrees on Sunday. It will be breezy, but mostly dry`mac.
:19:39. > :19:44.This tree was uprooted and there is rubbish everywhere. A lot of people
:19:45. > :19:47.in these houses have had to move out. The tidal surge which swept
:19:48. > :19:51.down the east coast was the biggest for 60 years, bigger than the one in
:19:52. > :19:55.1953 that killed more than 300 people. So what caused the rise in
:19:56. > :19:59.sea level that damaged homes and property across East Yorkshire and
:20:00. > :20:09.Lincolnshire? Caroline Bilton reports.
:20:10. > :20:14.It had all the ingredients of a perfect storm, low pressure, strong
:20:15. > :20:19.winds and high spring tides. East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire was put
:20:20. > :20:25.on high alert. I would urge everybody to pay close attention to
:20:26. > :20:28.the advice and warnings from the Environment Agency. Although it is
:20:29. > :20:34.of no comfort to those whose homes and businesses have been flooded, it
:20:35. > :20:39.could have been a lot worse. Hull's tidal barrier did its job and it
:20:40. > :20:43.protected homes and businesses from flooding. Some places we thought
:20:44. > :20:52.would be hit badly seemed to speak the worst. So what happened here and
:20:53. > :20:58.what was it `` was at the same as the predicted? Had we had an
:20:59. > :21:06.easterly or north`easterly gale, that would've made it considerably
:21:07. > :21:11.worse. What is needed for a perfect storm. He needs a strong wind
:21:12. > :21:15.blowing in a straight line across the North Sea. That pushes a lot of
:21:16. > :21:18.water in the direction of the southern portion of the North Sea
:21:19. > :21:27.and creates this branch of water. That is the storm surge. At exactly
:21:28. > :21:32.that time, very high spring tides need to power. It is also our
:21:33. > :21:37.geography that conspired against us. If you look at the North Sea, it is
:21:38. > :21:42.like a final shape and there is water that comes into a financially.
:21:43. > :21:49.We are just in the wrong place. Not only do we have this in the shape of
:21:50. > :21:56.the North Sea, we have the Vichy of the Humber. In the storm in 1953,
:21:57. > :22:03.hundreds of people were killed. It is a sobering thought that what
:22:04. > :22:08.happened yesterday was worse, but this time we were prepared. Well, as
:22:09. > :22:11.we've just seen in Caroline Bilton's report as events unfolded last night
:22:12. > :22:14.concern quickly shifted from the coast to towns and villages
:22:15. > :22:18.alongside tidal rivers like the Trent and the Witham and to the
:22:19. > :22:21.Humber Estuary itself. We can get a better idea of how
:22:22. > :22:28.extensive the flooding is by looking at these aerial pictures. As the
:22:29. > :22:31.camera pulls out from the Humber Bridge you can clearly see the
:22:32. > :22:40.estuary as it sweeps round towards Goole taking us over the village of
:22:41. > :22:44.South Ferriby. It's clear that there's still a lot of water on the
:22:45. > :22:50.roads and many homes have been flooded. You can even see work going
:22:51. > :22:56.on to pump out that flood water. The cement works are like an island in
:22:57. > :23:01.the middle of a lake. You can see Brough in the distance here and get
:23:02. > :23:04.an idea of how near the water got to that town. The building completely
:23:05. > :23:08.surrounded is the Welton Waters sailing club. It's a landscape
:23:09. > :23:19.that's been changed by the events of the past 24 hours. Some
:23:20. > :23:26.extravagantly pictures. Over the last day or so, you have been
:23:27. > :23:33.sharing your experiences in pictures and e`mails and texts and we thank
:23:34. > :23:39.you for all of them. The number of texts to the radio stations was
:23:40. > :24:25.phenomenal. Just a selection of them.
:24:26. > :24:33.The main national and regional headlines. Tributes pour in for the
:24:34. > :24:37.man described as the greatest leader of our times. Homes and businesses
:24:38. > :24:40.across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are beginning to
:24:41. > :24:46.clean`up after the biggest tidal surge in 60 years. Tomorrow's
:24:47. > :24:56.weather forecast, not as cold as it has been. Top temperatures getting
:24:57. > :25:02.up to around eight Celsius. Returning to our main story
:25:03. > :25:12.tonight, what more can you tell us about some more evacuations?
:25:13. > :25:17.Yes, it is still not over. The sea defence south of Boston has been
:25:18. > :25:22.damaged. Repairs are taking place, but they are trying to evacuate
:25:23. > :25:25.people from their homes there. It has really surprised a lot of
:25:26. > :25:31.people. When we talked to the authorities
:25:32. > :25:35.privately, they are quite shaken by this. They are surprised and shocked
:25:36. > :25:40.by the ferocity and speed of this. They know the whole rule book to do
:25:41. > :25:44.with these kind of events has been torn up, so it is difficult to
:25:45. > :25:49.predict what will happen in the future.
:25:50. > :25:54.Thank you very much for watching the events of the past 24 hours. It
:25:55. > :25:59.brought communities together and showed nature in full force. You
:26:00. > :26:05.have been sending your photos of your experiences. Here are just a
:26:06. > :26:11.few of them as we chart the progress of the tidal surge as it brought
:26:12. > :26:16.havoc to our area. Thank you very much for the pictures and thank you
:26:17. > :26:22.for watching. Have a safe and peaceful weekend. I will see you on
:26:23. > :26:33.Monday. He urged people to be prepared. It
:26:34. > :26:36.is very close now. It is only going to be another 510 minutes before
:26:37. > :26:48.this road is inundated with saltwater. Sea levels are rising, it
:26:49. > :26:55.is now the same level as the pavement. I would say go bust when
:26:56. > :27:05.it was at the docks, because of the docks flood, it is straight over. If
:27:06. > :27:10.it starts to come to fire on I don't know what might happen. It has
:27:11. > :27:18.gathered in these lower lying areas and further along the Humber, the
:27:19. > :27:25.problems are continuing. Try and ask people to move upstairs. Women
:27:26. > :27:33.affected twice in 2007, so this is the third time it has happened to my
:27:34. > :27:37.family. Everyone would suggest this could not possibly happen. Pretty
:27:38. > :27:45.hopeless, I think. But we have to try and get in and seem this age of
:27:46. > :27:52.the house. It is a timely