Some people were forced to evacuate their homes last night after flash floods hit Knaresborough.
An intense storm hit the town and some nearby villages at about 6pm last night, with reports that two inches of rain fell in two hours. Remarkably, many nearby places stayed virtually dry.
The Stray Ferret published a live blog last night giving updates on the situation.
One person commented on our Facebook post relating to the article that they were forced to book their parents into a hotel because of the state of their home.
Two other people posted their homes were also uninhabitable. One said:
“Our downstairs is destroyed, at least a foot of water has run through the whole of the downstairs and ruined everything, the drains just couldn’t cope with the sheer volume of the water and how quickly it came down.”
Another said:
“My parents’ bungalow was completely flooded under a foot of water, have had to move them out, its completely uninhabitable for them, everything completely ruined.”
Cllr Matt Walker, who represents Knaresborough West on North Yorkshire Council, said on the thread:
“I’m aware that a number of homes in Knaresborough have been flooded. I’ve activated North Yorkshire Council’s major incident response team who are working with Knaresborough Town Council to ensure those affected have accommodation to stay in tonight.”
Cllr Walker told the Stray Ferret he was aware “a number of people have been evacuated” and he would seek an update from the council ‘s major incident response team this morning.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident report this morning said it received calls for almost two hours from 6pm last night of flooding in the Knaresborough area.
“Fire appliances from Knaresborough, Harrogate, Tadcaster and Acomb responded and assisted various premises affected by flooding, by pumping water away when they could, cleaning up work and transporting vulnerable people to places of safety.
“North Yorkshire Council and local council resources also assisting with the aftermath, together with police.”
However, the sheer volume of rain caused chaos, with one person saying they had to rely on neighbours with buckets to help them remove water from their homes.
Many comments today are questioning the state of the town’s drains.
We will continue to cover this issue today by putting questions to North Yorkshire Council. If you were forced to evacuate your homes last night please get in touch by emailing us at [email protected] or send us a direct message on Facebook.
Pic: The view over High Bridge outside Mother Shipton’s last night.
Read more:
- Homes flooded and roads under water in Knaresborough
- Free gym classes for children in Harrogate and Knaresborough this month
