January Floods by Maggie Brookes

In the 1890's dredging for gravel and sand began off-shore to provide building materials for a new naval dockyard in Plymouth. By 1900 the level of the beach had fallen considerably, and the villagers petitioned their MP to get the dredging stopped. But the damage had been done, and when a great storm raged on the night of January 26th. Waves broke through doors and windows, waking the inhabitants. Imagine their terror as they leapt from their beds, gathered up their children, and set out to climb the cliffs behind the village in pitch darkness.

The remains of Hallsands village

Four houses had been swallowed by the sea by midnight. And the next day brought no respite, as another high tide washed away a further 25 houses, leaving only one standing. Nobody died, but 128 villagers were left homeless and without means of earning a living. Their claim for compensation took seven years.

The ruined village of Hallsands (sea level)

It isn't only rural and coastal areas which have suffered from January floods. On 7 January 1928, thousands were made homeless when the Thames flooded in central London, pouring over the embankments, flooding the city from Greenwich and Woolwich right up to Hammersmith and Putney. This was caused by a mixture of nature and man-made interventions: a sudden thaw, a high spring tide, a storm surge and heavy rain all combined with dredging which had been carried out to deepen the Thames which created a funnel effect for the surging tide.

Tide level at Tate gallery.

Tube stations along the river filled up with water, the House of Commons was flooded, Turner paintings were damaged at the Tate gallery and the Tower of London moat filled up with water. 4,000 people were made homeless, though only 14 died. In a typically British way, mobile animal hospitals were set up for pets which had been injured in the floods. The slums and warehouses of Millbank were worst hit, and many were demolished and later replaced by office blocks.

The worst January flood of modern times happened during the night of the 31st of January 1953 when the north sea storm tide killed more than 300 people down the East coast of England and Scotland, plus 224 lost at sea. This terrifying night-time flood was caused by a combination of a high tide with a storm, said to be the worst storm to hit Scotland for 500 years. It hit between Orkney and Shetland, then surged south, flowing over sea walls in 1,200 places, forcing 30,000 people from their homes. 58 people died when Canvey Island in Essex was flooded, 37 died at the seaside village of Jaywick, and 41 more at Felixstowe in Suffolk, where wooden prefab homes were washed away. As the tide overspilled the Royal Docks in London's East End, 200 people were made homeless and sheltered in Canning Town Town hall.

Part of the problem was a lack of communication. When a high tide occurred at Kings Lynn, killing 36 people, it was assumed to be a local event, and no warnings were issued down the coast and more than 60 people died some hours later on Canvey Island. If they'd been warned, there would have been enough time to evacuate them. More than 900 miles of coastline were damaged at a total cost estimated at £50 million. But there was incredible bravery too. Four men were given the George medal for their courage in wading into the waters and rescuing people.

Following the 1953 storm, coastal defences were improved right along our North Sea coasts and a Storm Tide Warning service was created. But some people remained homeless for a long time. In March 1953 108 families were moved into these caravans in Harwich, where they lived until December 1954.

Floods have already happened this January around the country, and no doubt there will be more, partly because of human-caused global warming, and building on river flood-plains, but also just because it's winter. Let's hope we get adequate warning.




Maggie Brookes, novelist and poet. Author of  historical novels The Prisoner's Wife and Acts of Love and War. As Maggie Brookes-Butt: Wish, New and Selected Poems, published January 27th 2025.

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