Thursday June 28th 2012 Tyneside experienced biblical weather with a black darkness descending mid afternoon followed by several episodes of torrential rain interspersed with spectacular lightening and thunder claps. There were 1500 lightening strikes recorded in one hour in the area according to official sources.
Although the rain came in again though the alcove ceiling above my desk it was not as bad as happened a few days before and apart from that I was not affected. It was not until seeing the local papers in the morning and viewing the regional news programme in the evening that the full extent of the damage was appreciated and with many families and individuals having their memorabilia of a lifetime destroyed as well as the contents of businesses and schools wrecked. The damage to individual lives and to property is incalculable and yet there were also many tales where the Geordie nation demonstrated Christian and socialist ethics and principles coupled with a spirit of accepting unpredictable freak acts of nature and getting on with it.
The storm is described as supercell and has already been recorded in Wikipedia as one of two in the UK in recent years and third known in Europe. They usually occur on the Great Plains of the USA and in this instance involved the clash of warm air from the south with cold air from across the Atlantic and the super strata of weather activity above. It should be mentioned that the storm swept across the UK and more accurately there were two storms and elsewhere there was hail the size of golf balls and a tornado. However it was the speed and intensive which stunned Tyneside and the wider North East and it was as one relative commented as if one had all the lights on because of the blackness outside and a power cut plunged the house into darkness.
People have used the expression of War of the Worlds and Armageddon thinking of Hollywood films seen than the biblical texts but for once they accurately described the impact of what happened. As much rain fell in two hours that is usual for the rest of the month and only once in the past 100 years has more rainfall been recorded and there are a couple of days to go.
The most used video was of lightening striking the Tyne Bridge although elsewhere in the city a house was struck and the upper floor caught fire but the family inside escaped without physical harm. The young man who pointed his phone camera at the Bridge and filmed the event shared a flat overlooking the Tyne and relayed the video to his closest friends. The video has appeared on televisions worldwide including Japan, and a huge photo dominated the background of regional news Friday evening. Only a week before the Bridge was also on national TV as someone abseiled on a wire from the top of the Bridge to the Quayside.
The other dramatic events immediately hitting the headlines was the flooding of the main city station and the closure of the Metro train system with the track between platforms in one photograph a lake. Both were closed several hours so too was the Tyne Tunnel which became a canal at its lowest point and with similar effects on part of the Metro system especially between platforms and in one instance a landslide also prevented use. I am not sure if it was this event or a separate one where the water accumulated on the Metro swept down and swamped housing turning one garden into a boating lake for the young person of the property. There was also film of two others canoeing down the main street and the out door artificial ice skating ring at Tynemouth which I mentioned as part of my recent visit to the town was photographed as a swimming pool.
The damage to railway lines affected more people which the East Coast line only able to operate a reduced service between Newcastle and Scotland 24 hours later because of a major land slides on the line. There was a similar problem on the West Coast Line via Carlisle to Glasgow which caused passengers on one train to arrive more than 12 hours late making a journey time of over 16 hours. When the train was held up in Cumbria someone had the idea of taking the train across county from west to east to Leeds where it was not able to make progress north because of what happened on the East Coast Line. Eventually it was sent back to the West coast when the line was cleared only for electrical failures causing a fire at the front of the train sending the passengers cramped to the rear for the remainder of the journey.
There were dozens of similar tales of multi hour hold ups and similarly on the roads because of closures and of people stranded or unable to reach destinations on time. A group of teenage girls with hair dos and special party frocks were shown trying to make their way to the School Prom at the Assembly Rooms in central Newcastle which had began two hours beforehand. Their once in a lifetime experience irrevocably ruined. Two people from South Shields were given overnight accommodation at the Metro and staff at a Tesco’s car park provided blanket and drinks for a family one of whose members had missed their flight and was staying on to catch the next in the early morning once roads became passable once more.
No one appears to have died or suffered injury in this region although a man in his sixties was swept to his death in Shropshire. A holidaymaker in Alnwick had a lucky escape as she and her husband got out of the car which suddenly commenced to fill water in the main High Street and she was swept away by the force of the current. She attempted to grab hold of not one but two lampposts without success until an estate agent managed to get hold of her from his shop entrance and with the help of two others got into the safety of his premises. An elderly woman on her own because her husband was in hospital could not thank the young neighbours enough who had rallied round to help her when water filled her ground floor by several feet. An elderly man was taken to hospital after being rescued from his property suffering from hypothermia. There were several reports and one video of bus drivers finding ways around the blocked roads, picking up people often ankle deep in water and getting them to their destinations.
On Thursday evening was limited coverage on the regional TV because reporters could not get out and as one later said it took him four hours to get home from the studio. In fact on the night the presenter appeared stunned like the rest of us. By the morning the event had made national and internal news with the Journal having a front page full of headlines- Homes Flooded, Trains Cancelled, Roads Closed and Businesses and Schools Hit. Inside it was reported that 23000 homes were without power, Later the number was given as 50000 because of lighting strikes on ground based Transformers and overhead cabling. 7500 were reported to have been without power overnight and some 2500 remained affected some 24 hours later with 200 engineers working to restore normal coverage.
Earlier in week I mentioned having overheard that Ocean Road with its restaurants on one side and B and B’s on the other had been flooded but without confirmation. On Friday I saw pictures of what happened when the roadway turned into a lake with photos of other places under water in South Shields and Borough. There was flooding in Hebburn and in Bolden the River Don rose threatening to burst its banks and flood local housing to one inch. Being Thursday there was to have been a show at Amphitheatre but that was underwater as well.
I was puzzled by a report that he Metro Shopping centre Gateshead had closed in parts as the main under cover Malls there are between one and two storey’s of car parking between the main malls and the roadway, but Ikea store had water coming in through the roofing which was said to have been damaged, Youngsters from nursery at Newburn had to be evacuated and taken to the Ambulance shelter HQ to await pick up by their parents.
A significant number of schools were closed for Friday throughout the region. There was film of the damage to schools in North Tyneside and Newcastle with one teacher explaining that they had witnessed a sheet of water 100 metres wide, the length of the pitch approaching and sweeping through the ground floor causing ten of thousands of pounds of damage. Teachers at one school stayed until midnight rescuing the work of pupils
One of the worst places where shops were affected was the Durham village of Lanchester where flooding has occurred before and where the owner of a hardware store said he would have to beat losses or risk being uninsured or having impossible to pay premiums. There was the damage caused to restaurant business that had only recently opened where the owners wondered how she could pay her staff with no income. In South Tyneside the Leader of the Council made a point of offering help to businesses including the provision of temporary accommodation.
It was evident that dozens if not hundreds of households had been affected. For those involved there was the shock, helplessness and then where do I begin to clear up on finding their irreplaceable lifetime records and memorabilia destroyed. One adviser encouraged everyone to take the initiate admitting that the insurance companies do not have the number of loss assessors on hand to immediately visit everyone. It was evident from previous events in Cumbria and elsewhere that it will time for properties to dry out before repairs can be made and family homes and businesses used as before. The adviser said it was likely companies would pay for the replacement of cars written off on damaged because of the flooding and speed at which it had occurred.
Despite the problems of the alcove ceiling above my work desk which I had repaired after water penetration two years ago, I congratulated myself again for living on a hill although having to walk back up after going out and returning with luggage from the stations (train and coach) or from shopping is not always welcomed especially when caught in the rain.
According to the weather forecast for the region while there was to have been showers later on Friday the morning was expected to be dry and warm although not as muggy as the previous day. It looked reasonable when I went out around 9 having forgotten to get a supply of the hard boiled sweets which I use one a night when my mouth has dried out on waking. I also bought the Journal and obtained a copy of the free morning paper called Metro.
I called in at the three bakeries for a cheese and pickle baguette but none were made up and also purchased three of half pounds of cherries. Because the sun was out and noting the queue that formed outside Barclay’s bank for its opening, I took a seat in the sunshine to read the papers before making way home. It was windy and I had difficult keeping tot he pages and then I noted the sudden appearance of ominous black clouds and would you Adam and Eve it, heavy rain poured forth again. I dived into the small M and S store nearby and could not resist their two can dine for £10 offer. I purchased an already part spit roasted chicken with a side of potato cubes, cherry tomatoes and Mozzarella for baking, and a carton of raspberries and blue berries resisting the apple tart and other tempting puddings plus a bottle of red wine, the latter for putting down for the future when the under 16 stone position is reached. I will return for two coasted fish with a prawn topping and the apple pie (for the freezer) plus a bottle of Rosé in the fridge but also for the future. I was impressed with the selection available and delighted to see that the local store which is primarily food is participating. I returned on Saturday morning and in addition to the planned also purchased a joint of ham with more berries and a further bottle of red plus the side dishes of potato, tomato cheese bake, with only one other left after me. I would have one of the excellent fish meals with one of the potato bake plus another chunk of the melon which has provided seven good portions for the £2 but of the fruit season to--date. Alas I did not get two. I was able to enjoy a cheese and pickle £1 baguette for lunch with some cherries.
I did note that we have now lost a card shops in High Street and that one of the two shoe shop is closing down which together with the other recent and longer term closures begins to reveal the extent of the downturn on our High Street which brings me to writing the politics’ piece or more accurately pieces as a plethora of developments make one integrated note beyond me as a quickly written item.
First as the sun is shining another walk into the town centre with an umbrella just in case it rains again on the day of the Northumberland Plate, The Pitman’s Derby at Gosforth with the Hoppings Fair on the adjacent Town Moor. It will be interesting to see if Tyneside does dress up or it is macs and wellies given the forecast for the rest of the day.
Although the rain came in again though the alcove ceiling above my desk it was not as bad as happened a few days before and apart from that I was not affected. It was not until seeing the local papers in the morning and viewing the regional news programme in the evening that the full extent of the damage was appreciated and with many families and individuals having their memorabilia of a lifetime destroyed as well as the contents of businesses and schools wrecked. The damage to individual lives and to property is incalculable and yet there were also many tales where the Geordie nation demonstrated Christian and socialist ethics and principles coupled with a spirit of accepting unpredictable freak acts of nature and getting on with it.
The storm is described as supercell and has already been recorded in Wikipedia as one of two in the UK in recent years and third known in Europe. They usually occur on the Great Plains of the USA and in this instance involved the clash of warm air from the south with cold air from across the Atlantic and the super strata of weather activity above. It should be mentioned that the storm swept across the UK and more accurately there were two storms and elsewhere there was hail the size of golf balls and a tornado. However it was the speed and intensive which stunned Tyneside and the wider North East and it was as one relative commented as if one had all the lights on because of the blackness outside and a power cut plunged the house into darkness.
People have used the expression of War of the Worlds and Armageddon thinking of Hollywood films seen than the biblical texts but for once they accurately described the impact of what happened. As much rain fell in two hours that is usual for the rest of the month and only once in the past 100 years has more rainfall been recorded and there are a couple of days to go.
The most used video was of lightening striking the Tyne Bridge although elsewhere in the city a house was struck and the upper floor caught fire but the family inside escaped without physical harm. The young man who pointed his phone camera at the Bridge and filmed the event shared a flat overlooking the Tyne and relayed the video to his closest friends. The video has appeared on televisions worldwide including Japan, and a huge photo dominated the background of regional news Friday evening. Only a week before the Bridge was also on national TV as someone abseiled on a wire from the top of the Bridge to the Quayside.
The other dramatic events immediately hitting the headlines was the flooding of the main city station and the closure of the Metro train system with the track between platforms in one photograph a lake. Both were closed several hours so too was the Tyne Tunnel which became a canal at its lowest point and with similar effects on part of the Metro system especially between platforms and in one instance a landslide also prevented use. I am not sure if it was this event or a separate one where the water accumulated on the Metro swept down and swamped housing turning one garden into a boating lake for the young person of the property. There was also film of two others canoeing down the main street and the out door artificial ice skating ring at Tynemouth which I mentioned as part of my recent visit to the town was photographed as a swimming pool.
The damage to railway lines affected more people which the East Coast line only able to operate a reduced service between Newcastle and Scotland 24 hours later because of a major land slides on the line. There was a similar problem on the West Coast Line via Carlisle to Glasgow which caused passengers on one train to arrive more than 12 hours late making a journey time of over 16 hours. When the train was held up in Cumbria someone had the idea of taking the train across county from west to east to Leeds where it was not able to make progress north because of what happened on the East Coast Line. Eventually it was sent back to the West coast when the line was cleared only for electrical failures causing a fire at the front of the train sending the passengers cramped to the rear for the remainder of the journey.
There were dozens of similar tales of multi hour hold ups and similarly on the roads because of closures and of people stranded or unable to reach destinations on time. A group of teenage girls with hair dos and special party frocks were shown trying to make their way to the School Prom at the Assembly Rooms in central Newcastle which had began two hours beforehand. Their once in a lifetime experience irrevocably ruined. Two people from South Shields were given overnight accommodation at the Metro and staff at a Tesco’s car park provided blanket and drinks for a family one of whose members had missed their flight and was staying on to catch the next in the early morning once roads became passable once more.
No one appears to have died or suffered injury in this region although a man in his sixties was swept to his death in Shropshire. A holidaymaker in Alnwick had a lucky escape as she and her husband got out of the car which suddenly commenced to fill water in the main High Street and she was swept away by the force of the current. She attempted to grab hold of not one but two lampposts without success until an estate agent managed to get hold of her from his shop entrance and with the help of two others got into the safety of his premises. An elderly woman on her own because her husband was in hospital could not thank the young neighbours enough who had rallied round to help her when water filled her ground floor by several feet. An elderly man was taken to hospital after being rescued from his property suffering from hypothermia. There were several reports and one video of bus drivers finding ways around the blocked roads, picking up people often ankle deep in water and getting them to their destinations.
On Thursday evening was limited coverage on the regional TV because reporters could not get out and as one later said it took him four hours to get home from the studio. In fact on the night the presenter appeared stunned like the rest of us. By the morning the event had made national and internal news with the Journal having a front page full of headlines- Homes Flooded, Trains Cancelled, Roads Closed and Businesses and Schools Hit. Inside it was reported that 23000 homes were without power, Later the number was given as 50000 because of lighting strikes on ground based Transformers and overhead cabling. 7500 were reported to have been without power overnight and some 2500 remained affected some 24 hours later with 200 engineers working to restore normal coverage.
Earlier in week I mentioned having overheard that Ocean Road with its restaurants on one side and B and B’s on the other had been flooded but without confirmation. On Friday I saw pictures of what happened when the roadway turned into a lake with photos of other places under water in South Shields and Borough. There was flooding in Hebburn and in Bolden the River Don rose threatening to burst its banks and flood local housing to one inch. Being Thursday there was to have been a show at Amphitheatre but that was underwater as well.
I was puzzled by a report that he Metro Shopping centre Gateshead had closed in parts as the main under cover Malls there are between one and two storey’s of car parking between the main malls and the roadway, but Ikea store had water coming in through the roofing which was said to have been damaged, Youngsters from nursery at Newburn had to be evacuated and taken to the Ambulance shelter HQ to await pick up by their parents.
A significant number of schools were closed for Friday throughout the region. There was film of the damage to schools in North Tyneside and Newcastle with one teacher explaining that they had witnessed a sheet of water 100 metres wide, the length of the pitch approaching and sweeping through the ground floor causing ten of thousands of pounds of damage. Teachers at one school stayed until midnight rescuing the work of pupils
One of the worst places where shops were affected was the Durham village of Lanchester where flooding has occurred before and where the owner of a hardware store said he would have to beat losses or risk being uninsured or having impossible to pay premiums. There was the damage caused to restaurant business that had only recently opened where the owners wondered how she could pay her staff with no income. In South Tyneside the Leader of the Council made a point of offering help to businesses including the provision of temporary accommodation.
It was evident that dozens if not hundreds of households had been affected. For those involved there was the shock, helplessness and then where do I begin to clear up on finding their irreplaceable lifetime records and memorabilia destroyed. One adviser encouraged everyone to take the initiate admitting that the insurance companies do not have the number of loss assessors on hand to immediately visit everyone. It was evident from previous events in Cumbria and elsewhere that it will time for properties to dry out before repairs can be made and family homes and businesses used as before. The adviser said it was likely companies would pay for the replacement of cars written off on damaged because of the flooding and speed at which it had occurred.
Despite the problems of the alcove ceiling above my work desk which I had repaired after water penetration two years ago, I congratulated myself again for living on a hill although having to walk back up after going out and returning with luggage from the stations (train and coach) or from shopping is not always welcomed especially when caught in the rain.
According to the weather forecast for the region while there was to have been showers later on Friday the morning was expected to be dry and warm although not as muggy as the previous day. It looked reasonable when I went out around 9 having forgotten to get a supply of the hard boiled sweets which I use one a night when my mouth has dried out on waking. I also bought the Journal and obtained a copy of the free morning paper called Metro.
I called in at the three bakeries for a cheese and pickle baguette but none were made up and also purchased three of half pounds of cherries. Because the sun was out and noting the queue that formed outside Barclay’s bank for its opening, I took a seat in the sunshine to read the papers before making way home. It was windy and I had difficult keeping tot he pages and then I noted the sudden appearance of ominous black clouds and would you Adam and Eve it, heavy rain poured forth again. I dived into the small M and S store nearby and could not resist their two can dine for £10 offer. I purchased an already part spit roasted chicken with a side of potato cubes, cherry tomatoes and Mozzarella for baking, and a carton of raspberries and blue berries resisting the apple tart and other tempting puddings plus a bottle of red wine, the latter for putting down for the future when the under 16 stone position is reached. I will return for two coasted fish with a prawn topping and the apple pie (for the freezer) plus a bottle of Rosé in the fridge but also for the future. I was impressed with the selection available and delighted to see that the local store which is primarily food is participating. I returned on Saturday morning and in addition to the planned also purchased a joint of ham with more berries and a further bottle of red plus the side dishes of potato, tomato cheese bake, with only one other left after me. I would have one of the excellent fish meals with one of the potato bake plus another chunk of the melon which has provided seven good portions for the £2 but of the fruit season to--date. Alas I did not get two. I was able to enjoy a cheese and pickle £1 baguette for lunch with some cherries.
I did note that we have now lost a card shops in High Street and that one of the two shoe shop is closing down which together with the other recent and longer term closures begins to reveal the extent of the downturn on our High Street which brings me to writing the politics’ piece or more accurately pieces as a plethora of developments make one integrated note beyond me as a quickly written item.
First as the sun is shining another walk into the town centre with an umbrella just in case it rains again on the day of the Northumberland Plate, The Pitman’s Derby at Gosforth with the Hoppings Fair on the adjacent Town Moor. It will be interesting to see if Tyneside does dress up or it is macs and wellies given the forecast for the rest of the day.
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