Worst coastal surge for 30 years?

[OhYouMerryLittleKitten]

So r4 reports the environment agency as saying for this afternoon right down the east coast to Essex. Just eating my breakfast so will dig out the relevant info in a little bit.

Apparently there's a major flooding incident at humberside airport.

Water is apparently to the top of the sea defences in Yarmouth and high tide not til 10.30pm.

Although I can't find any substantiation of that report at the airport.....

Thanks waswondering. Report was on a weather forum.

North Hull seems fine. It's city centre, A63, Kingston Retail Park, Ferensway that's flooded.

And Victoria Dock and Hessle.

It's from a tweet from STaffordshire fire service here

Definitely flooding in Hull- Kingston retail park, Hessle Road, A63, Castle Street, Victoria Dock... Some people are being evacuated from Vicky Dock. And that's WITH the tidal barrier down!

I'm on the East Yorkshire coast and the waves looked enormous earlier- didn't get down there myself but have seen lots of people posting on FB; most people are saying it's the worst they've seen it. There's some flooding in the lower lying areas of our town, on the seafront.

Scary stuff.

Ahhh, it's where the fire pumps are meeting. It did seem very odd looking at the map!

Does anyone know what's happening at Saltend?

SKY has first reports of troops being sent to assist (Norfolk, nfd).

Well DH is happy not to go out now to the shed and rescue anything from there. We'll take a torch & charge our phones upstairs when we go to bed. (our floor level is much higher than the end of the garden which is orange) So think we'll be ok.
Dh is registered with the flood alert system so he'll leave his phone on overnight.

I hope it all passes smoothly and everyone stays safe.

Alci, no, it's not the same thing. If you look at the NTSLF observations for liverpool, you'll see that they were pretty much bang on the astronomical tide for the preceding day. In more exposed locations, with weather systems passing through, it's likely to up for a bit, down for a bit and so on. With a storm like this, the strongest winds correspond to the steepest gradient in air pressure, and thus it's not a massive surprise to see a reversal from less height to more, but it's almost an observational bias.

The tsunami effect is more solid. You've probably stood barefoot on a beach, feeling the waves scouring the sand out from under your toes. A tsunami is just that wave on a grander scale. It forms in deep water, by the water piling up at the site of the energy input, then radiates outward, with low amplitude, long wavelength. When it hits continental shelf, it concertinas up, and starts to break. The trough comes first, which means water sucking away from under your toes to feet the peak behind it.

I've been driving home from London to Norfolk with KLFM on my iPad , and it seems waters right at the top of the flood defences at Kings Lynn . RSPCA have put out an appeal for dogs to be temporarily re homed , so we have given them our details and are awaiting a call to have an overnight house guest . Apparently loads of people volunteered . River at the end of the road has apparently got right to the top , but EA have opened the relief channel right up so we should be OK .

I expect so!

fizzly, haven't heard anything about Saltend, have you checked the Hull Daily Mail website?

OneMore can't find anything on there about it. Good idea tho.

Well this is all rather alarming. Just seen Prince William of Gloucester barracks in Grantham is an evacuation centre. That seems rather a long way away from the 'action' but it is at the top of a big hill. Happily for me my mum and dad and other ancient relations live close by so at least can be assured they're safe! Hope everybody else stays safe likewise. This is very scary.

I've just checked on there and can't see anything either fizzly; hopefully no news is good news...

Well, the Witham flooded in Grantham in the 1970s but it wasn't tidal surge - it's miles inland. Though as Lincolnshire is flat and low-lying, uphill sites near Hall's Hill are probably the first land with an elevation above sea level! Even though they must be an hour or more drive from the coast.

There is a great Victorian poem called High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire which I remember reading when I visited the Boston Stump (main church) a couple of years ago... I guess they were used to this sort of thing.

'Then bankes came downe with ruin and rout—

Then beaten foam flew round about—
Then all the mighty floods were out.'

Hope Boston is OK. Nice old town.