The normally picturesque view of England’s Lake District saw itself become the scene of a rescue operation as helicopters and lifeboats plucked hundreds residents and brought them to safety. The area recorded the most rainfall ever recorded in the nation and the weather was responsible for the death of a local constable.
Widespread heavy rain across England and Ireland caused flooding that brought floods as deep as eight feet and engorged rivers that brought down bridges. England set a national rainfall record when 12.3 inches of rain fell in just 24 hours last week at Seathwaite Farm according to Britain’s Met Office.
In the town of Cockermouth, officials estimate 1,000 homes were flooded and more than 200 people were rescued. Local emergency responders and British soldiers conducted house to house searches to extract those struck by the floods. The town, 300 miles northwest of London, is at the confluence of the Cocker and Derwent rivers and is the birthplaces of poet William Woodsworth.
