THE ENGLISH NEWS

THE BOSCASTLE BOMBARDMENT!

On Monday, 16th August, 2004
a flash flood hit the coastal town
of Boscastle in Cornwall, England.
The village suffered extensive
damage after eight hours of rain-
fall of biblical intensity. This caus-
ed a month’s worth of rain to fall on the town. This led to the
Victorian sewers not being able to cope with the amount of
water being poured into them. Boscastle is also the
confluence point of THREE rivers which at the rate of the
rainfall quickly overflowed.
Tony Upton, 59, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, spent the night at the centre with
his son John, 14. Mr Upton became separated from his wife Barbara as floodwaters
tore through Boscastle yesterday afternoon. He said: "I had a call from my wife at 6.30
last night saying she was OK. "But since then we've heard nothing, nothing at all. I'm
getting more and more worried as the hours pass. "Mr Upton's son was rescued by a
human chain after he became stranded on top of a floating car. Speaking at the
centre, the teenager said: "Cars were floating down the street. I could see tyres and
trees floating past me. It was unbelievable. I was absolutely petrified”. The Uptons
were visiting Boscastle on the third day of a two-week holiday in the area. Mr Upton
added: "I've never seen anything like it before. Cars and bridges and trees floated past
me. "At one point I looked behind Boscastle further up the valley. It was like looking at
a huge river of chocolate speeding towards me."

Thankfully there weren’t any casualties and the only major

injury was a broken thumb. Helicopters came in to the rescue
picked up about 150 people. The coastal village was left in
ruins after the floods ended. The estimated damage was £15
million. 80 cars and 4 buildings were washed into the sea.
The effects of the flood were devastating but thankfully the
flood defences have been improved since then.