The document summarizes the 2004 Boscastle flood in Cornwall, England. It describes how heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in the town, with over 185mm of rain falling in just a few hours. The floodwaters rose rapidly, damaging homes and businesses and injuring some residents. While no lives were lost, the economic effects on the town's tourism-dependent economy were long-lasting as accommodations had to close for an extended period to recover. The document also discusses some of the factors that contributed to the flooding and measures taken to help prevent future floods.

1. Boscastle August 2004 By Will and Buckley and Sean A Lucky Survivor Of The Boscastle Flood

2. The Location Of Boscastle Boscastle is situated on the north coast of Cornwall It is situated 14 miles south of Bude and 5 miles north-east of Tintagel. Boscastle harbour is a natural inlet protected by two stone harbour walls built in 1584. It is the only significant harbour for 20 miles along the coast. As well as being a fishing harbour, Boscastle was once a small port (similar to many others on the north coast of Cornwall) importing limestone and coal and exporting slate and other local produce.

3. More Lucky Survivors Of The Boscastle Flood Boscastle harbour

4. The Damage Than Can Be Caused By Flooding The devastated and tragic aftermath of Boscastle

5. The Cause Of The Flood The rainfall occurred because moist warm air was travelling upwards very quickly. The rainfall on the afternoon of 16 August 2004 was very heavy. 185 mm of rain fell over the high ground just inland of Boscastle. At the peak of the downpour, at about 15:40 GMT, 24.1mm of rain (almost one inch) was recorded as falling in just 15 minutes at Lesnewth, 2.5 miles up the valley from Boscastle. In Boscastle, 89 mm of rain was recorded in 60 minutes. The rain was very localised: four of the nearest 10 rain gauges, all within a few miles of Boscastle, showed less than 3 mm of rain that day. The cause of the very heavy localised rain is thought to be an extreme example of what has become known as the Brown Willy effect. The torrential rain led to a 2 m rise in river levels in one hour. A 3 m wave, believed to have been triggered by water pooling behind debris caught under a bridge and then being suddenly released as the bridge collapsed, surged down the main road. Water speed was over 4 mps, more than enough to cause structural damage. It is estimated that 20 million tonnes of water flowed through Boscastle that day alone. The steep valley sides, and the saturated surface ensured a high amount of surface run-off.

6. The Causes Continued Changes in farming practice in the area also possibly contributed, sewage could have been a cause as well, with a reduction of trees and hedges higher up the valley causing water to flow through more quickly than would have been the case in the past. Fortunately, no one died in the flood. However, an episode of Discovery Channel's Perfect Disaster states that the floods might have been caused by a phenomenon called a "blocking high". A blocking high is a large area of static high pressure. It can happen anywhere in the world, and the effect is deadly because the high pressure can stall other weather systems around it.

7. The Short Term Effects Of The Flood Loss of homes Loss of business Loss of possessions Injury Loss of public services and things like electricity and water Trees were uprooted

8. The Long Term Effects Of The Flood About 90% of Boscastle’s economy is tourism and about 2/3 of this income usually occurred during the school holidays. Tourism had to be regenerated in the area. The accommodation providers had to shut and they took a long time to re open.

9. How Can Another Flood Be Prevented? Boscastle car park is being raised in height

10. How Can Another Flood Be Prevented?

11. How Can Another Beastly Flood Be Prevented?

12. How Can Another Flood Be Prevented?

14. The End