2004 Boscastle flood
The old Cornish Stores shop | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Date | 16 August 2004 |
| Overall effects | |
| Damage | Extensive |
| Areas affected | Boscastle; Crackington Haven |
The 2004 Boscastle flood occurred on Monday 16 August 2004 in the villages of Boscastle and Crackington Haven on the north-west coast of Cornwall, England, UK. The villages suffered extensive damage after eight hours of exceptionally heavy rain caused flash floods. The flooding in Boscastle was filmed and extensively reported, but the floods in Crackington Haven and Rocky Valley were not mentioned beyond the local news. The floods were the worst in local memory. A study commissioned by the Environment Agency from hydraulics consulting firm HR Wallingford concluded that the flooding was among the most extreme ever experienced in Britain. The cost of the damage was estimated to be £50 million.
The last time Boscastle had suffered notable flooding was in 1996, as a result of Hurricane Lili. Floods are recorded in 1847, 1957, on 3 June 1958 (one man drowned) and on 6 February 1963 during the Winter of 1962–63 in the United Kingdom. On 16 August 1952, 52 years to the day before Boscastle's 2004 flood, the small town of Lynmouth, 50 miles (80 km) to the north-east on the north coast in Devon, near Exmoor, had suffered extensive damage in a catastrophic flood in which 34 people lost their lives.