|
Published:
December 13, 2006
The
story of the 1981 storm in photos
It
is more than 25 years since the dramatic winter storm of 1981
hit Burnham-On-Sea, leaving a trail of damage along the town's
seafront and a repair bill along the Somerset coast of £6
million.
 December
13th, 1981 will stick in the minds of many Burnham-On-Sea residents
forever - it was a frightening, defining moment for the town that
led to the construction of stronger sea defences and local authorities
taking a fresh look at the town's flood preparedness.
The
high tides combined with a massive storm surge and, while fortunately
no lives were lost, millions of pounds of damage was left across
the area and scores of homes and businesses in the centre of Burnham
were flooded.
Mel
Gosling was one of the Burnham-On-Sea Coastguards on duty on December
13th, 1981. He told Burnham-On-Sea.com how he clearly remembered
the night: "It was a rainy, bitterly cold night. We were
called out at 6pm when the forecasters confirmed the severe weather
would be coming to Burnham."
"People
were nervous about what was going to happen. We spent much of
the evening moving sand bags into position and helping residents
move out of basement flats along the seafront."
"Then,
in the early hours when the storm hit, the waves just rolled right
over the sea wall and into the town. I'd never seen anything like
it. The gratings along The Esplanade were thrown upwards by the
force of the water under the sea wall - and parts of the wall
itself were badly damaged. We briefly stood down at 3am when the
storm began to subside but were out again at 6am to help deal
with the aftermath. We were then on duty for a full 24 hours."
The
photos here show how the town's Esplanade bore the brunt of the
storm. They illustrate how a huge operation to shore up the sea
defences took place on December 14th, when another high tide was
due. More memories of the 1981
storm here.
What
are your memories of the 1981 storm? Click
here
Burnham's
sea wall collapsed in several places, leaving gaping holes in
the pavements and at the edge of The Esplanade road.
Chunks
of the sea wall littered Burnham's seafront on the morning after
the December 13th storm.
Burnham's
seafront was badly damaged, with concrete from the sea wall and
other debris littering The Esplanade.
One
car, parked outside a seafront property, was hurled into the front
of the building, damaging a wall and windows.
Flooding
hit homes in low-lying areas of Burnham-On-Sea, Brean, Weston,
Uphill and Sand Bay. The water travelled inland as far as Pawlett.
Council
workers joined forces with local residents to fill up sand banks
and shore up the gaps in Burnham's sea wall.
The
emergency repair operation in Burnham on December 14th was one
of the most extensive ever carried out by West Country local authorities.
A
long line of lorries was used to quickly bring in stone from local
quarries, along with sand, in order to try and shore up the seafront
and prevent further damage.
While
many people in Burnham suffered financial damage, they were drawn
together by a strong community spirit by helping others at a time
of need - here seen preparing sand bags.
Hundreds
of sand bags were filled by volunteers along Burnham seafront
in a sucessful attempt to prevent further flooding.
Every
type of vehicle was used to help bring in sand to try and prevent
more flooding in homes across the town.
Wessex
Water Authority estimated the total damage to the Somerset coastline
had been £6 million - all of it caused by a sea surge like
nothing seen before.
Huge
rocks were delivered direct from quarries to shore up the damaged
seafront in Burnham.
Caravans
along the coast near Burnham were severely damaged by the wind
and water.
Several
of the worst affected homes were surrounded by flood water.
The
old shelter on the North Esplanade was surrounded by holes in
the sea wall
Maple
Drive in Burnham was under several inches of sea water after the
storm
Residents
in Sycamore Close worked together in the flooded roads
Sea
water again spilled over the damaged sea defences on the following
high tide
This
dome shelter on Burnham seafront was surrounded by debris
The
storm damage was also visible here besides Burnham seafront cafe
Cars
and other debris were pushed along the streets of nearby Uphill
by a wall of sea water and other material.
| .How
the weather contributed to Burnham's 1981 flooding |
|
December 1981 began and ended mild, with a severe wintry
spell between the 8th and 27th which contributed to the
conditions in Burnham-On-Sea. As the month started, a warm
front moving around a large high south of Ireland brought
temperatures of 15C to Aberdeen on December 3rd. As the
high slipped away, cold fronts brought progressively colder
air south. Bitterly cold air with hail and snow reached
Shetland on the 4th and a depression moved southeast across
the country on the 7th, bringing with it icy cold air.
Rain
turned to heavy snow with a sharp temperature plunge on
the 8th. There were some exceptional temperatures in the
northerly airflow. On the 11th, the minimum around Glasgow
was -13C. As a low front crossed northern France on the
11th, there was widespread heavy snowfall in the south with
26cm recorded at Heathrow. Clearing skies, fresh snow and
still Arctic air all added up to very low temperatures -
the minimum was -22.6C in Shropshire on the night of the
11-12th.
Another
depression introduced a blizzard with wind speeds of 95
mph in the south west on December 13th. This created a huge
storm surge along the Bristol Channel, leading to widespread
flooding in Burnham and elsewhere. It also combined with
the weather suddenly turning milder, creating a rapid thaw
and sending melt water down the Bristol Channel towards
Burnham...
|
[All
photos from the BBC reproduced under a Creative
Archive License on a non-commercial basis for educational
purposes]
RELATED
LINKS:
Your
memories of the 1981 storm in Burnham-On-Sea
More Burnham-On-Sea history...
|
