Looe endured its worst conditions for 25 years as a violent storm swept over South East Cornwall to join forces with an extra high tide causing a flood which saw even the lifeboat house under water. This combined with low pressure to send water cascading through the centre of Looe on Wednesday evening flooding shops, pubs, businesses, and homes in the heart of the resort. When the river swollen by heavy rain collided head-on with the sea, driven by a south easterly gale, there was nowhere for the water to escape except over the quay sides and into both east and west Looe. Although minor flooding is not uncommon, there was nothing that could be done to combat such a deadly combination. Police closed off part of the town for a time as the angry river carried away various items, including heavy wooden benches. Evacuation point They supervised the removal of vehicles from riverside car parks before any serious damage could be done. At one stage police set up an evacuation point in St Martin's church hall, although it was never needed Among the worst hit was the RNLI boathouse on the sea front where conditions were so severe for a time that it was extremely doubtful the inshore lifeboat could have been launched. Administrative officer Roger Tatt said that the volunteer crew turned out to make sure that the lifeboat itself was safe as a wall of water inundated the boathouse. Yet despite the horrendous conditions, he said, lifeboatmen and members of the Coastguard were kept busy warning people – many of them holidaymakers – that they risked their lives in trying to get a better view. Furious Yesterday the crew were busy clearing up the seaweed and sand which had remained as evidence of a furious storm. The fire station close to the quayside in West Looe was also threatened with flooding for a time, but although water crept up to the doors it did not get inside. Sub-officer George Craig said that, as a precaution, the appliance was moved out, and later proved invaluable in the mass pumping-out operation which followed. A total of four appliances joined forces to battle the flood, and between 30 and 40 premises were pumped out. There was concern for a time as steam began to rise from the flood and it was assumed that water had entered an electricity junction box. However, Western Power Distribution engineers were quickly able to resolve the situation. Fore Street in East Looe was particularly hard hit by the sudden flood, with the Somerfield store one of several premises forced to close yesterday as a result. Manageress Joanne Charlesworth said there was nothing staff could do to prevent the flood rising to a depth of three or four inches. Another victim was the Moonlight Indian restaurant where the manager said he had seen nothing like it in the 14 years he had worked there. Kelly's cafe and ice cream parlour, a few yards away, had to close briefly during the evening. However manager Colin Le Poidevan was able to say that it was business as usual yesterday. Rodney Darlington, manager of the Swan, one of four pubs in Fore Street, said the conditions had been the worst he had experienced in 25 years. He and his staff had watched powerless as the water flowed in, then grabbed their brooms and got on with the cleaning up operation. Although it was open yesterday, carpeting in the Golden Guinea restaurant has already been thrown away. Manager Paul Crossley said that with the ground floor below pavement level there was nothing that could be done to keep the water out even though they had put up flood barricades. He said that sandbags provided by the Environment Agency had arrived too late to be of any real use, and felt that their method of supply should be questioned. Meanwhile, the recently refurbished railway station in Liskeard had problems of its own. As around 30 people arrived on Wednesday evening outside the main building to meet passengers from long distance trains delayed by the weather, they were expecting to enjoy at least a cup of tea. However they could not gain access to main building and the new restaurant area, and gathered it had been closed at 1.30 p.m. because of a staff shortage.
