2009 Great Britain and Ireland floods

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2009 Great Britain and Ireland floods
Map of the British Isles showing affected regions
  Areas affected by flooding
  Death(s) from flooding
  Areas affected by strong winds
  Death(s) from strong winds
Meteorological history
Duration1 November 2009 – December 2009
Overall effects
Fatalities4
Areas affected
Elsewhere

The 2009 Great Britain and Ireland floods were a weather event that affected parts of Great Britain and Ireland throughout November and into December 2009. November was the wettest month across the United Kingdom since records began in 1914 and had well above average temperatures.[1] The worst affected area in Great Britain was the English county of Cumbria. The Irish counties of Clare, Cork, Galway and Westmeath were among the worst affected areas of Ireland.

European windstorms bringing heavy rain and gale-force winds caused damage and flooding to the south of Great Britain on 13–14 November. Unsettled weather continued across the south and later to the north. On 19–20 November, many towns and villages in Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway were affected. A number of bridges collapsed, one of which led to the death of a police officer, who was standing on the bridge when it collapsed.[2][3] Another death occurred on 21 November as a canoeist was trapped against a tree near Poundsgate, on Dartmoor in Devon. In Powys, there were two deaths, at Newtown and Talybont-on-Usk.

Among the many places severely flooded was the Republic of Ireland's second largest city, Cork.[4][5] For more than ten days, 40 per cent of its population were without running water after a treatment plant was affected by several metres of flood water.[6] University College Cork was damaged and at least a week of lectures was cancelled.[7] Courts were also disrupted, with some eventually being moved to a hotel.[8] At the time, Taoiseach Brian Cowen described the situation in Ireland as an "ongoing emergency" that was going to get worse.[9][10]

  1. ^ "November 2009". The Met Office. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  2. ^ "Body found in floods search is missing policeman". BBC News. London. 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 November 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  3. ^ "Police confirm that body is missing bridge collapse officer". Sky News. London. 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  4. ^ Shanahan, Catherine (21 November 2009). "Devastation | Irish Examiner". Examiner.ie. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  5. ^ Donal Thornton (20 November 2009). "Ireland faces massive clean-up bill for worst flooding in living memory". Irish Central. Archived from the original on 23 November 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  6. ^ "RTÉ News: South & West on alert as more rain forecast". RTÉ.ie. 21 November 2009. Archived from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  7. ^ "Council declares civic emergency in Cork". BreakingNews.ie. 21 November 2009. Archived from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cork court moved to hotel by floods was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Colm Heatley (26 November 2009). "Brian Cowen Says Ireland's Flooding Is Continuing Emergency". Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  10. ^ Ann Cahill (26 November 2009). "Climate change rain warning". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 November 2009.

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