Flooding

[martinr]

In situations like this obviously the Fire Brigade are stretched to the limit. Do they ever call upon local Mountain and Cave Rescue teams for assistance?

5-6 December 2015 11.30 hrs - Cumbria Flooding

Team were put on standby due to the increasing water levels. With the river Kent breaking its banks, and the seriousness of the flooding increasing, the team started deploying to various incidents. Utilising the team's Land Rovers to navigate floodwaters, members were despatched to help evacuate residents from houses at risk. As events unfolded and premises did start to flood, swift water rescue technicians were mobilised to assist with evacuation.

Working with the emergency services and other volunteer rescue organisations such as Bay SRT, Langdale & Ambleside MRT and others, we attended countless incidents across the area from Windermere to Milnthorpe, rescuing car passengers stuck in flood, evacuating people cut off in flooded houses and assisting ambulance crews in moving patients to hospitals outside the town where ambulances could not access areas due to flooding.

The team worked through the night on Saturday and continued deployment through Sunday. As water levels finally receded and roads in Kendal re-opened, the team stood down at 19:41. We would like to thank Booths in Milnthorpe, and Trav's Chippy in Kirkbarrow, as well as the gentleman who delivered flasks of tea and packets of biscuits for their generosity in providing hungry and tired MRT members with food and drink on Sunday as they attended rescues.

 

[Madness]

It's good to see that voluntary rescue teams have been involved. Lets hope they get the praise from authorities and in the press that they deserve. Perhaps the government ought to realise that in situations like this these volunteers are 'unsung heroes', and think about offering up some funding for equipment and training.

 

[Alex]

Yeh our water team (UWFRA) went out to help on Sunday evening and are on standby today. I presume CRO did too, but I have no details of that.

 

[Spike]

For CRO, see here and here

 

[Wayland Smith]

Remember in the Lakes several of the teams have trained and equipped  "swift water rescue teams"
Not just Joe Soap with a rubber raft!
Their 4wd vehicles can also get where police and ambulance can't.
Because of the training and respect built up by the teams they are often the first call out to a problem in bad conditions.

 

[Brains]

Did anyone gping past valley Entrance notice if it was resurging?

 

[RobinGriffiths]

Any inkling whether any caves may be prone to any significant modification along the lines of Swildons in the 68 flood?

Robin

 

[Badlad]

Another unusual phenomenon of the recent flooding - Leck Fell Lake full to the brim.  The water must be 10m deep and directly above parts of the Three Counties System.  This shakehole often has water in it but I've never seen it full.

Also note the River Lune flood plains in the background.

 

[Clive G]

Another unusual phenomenon of the recent flooding - Leck Fell Lake full to the brim.  The water must be 10m deep and directly above parts of the Three Counties System.  This shakehole often has water in it but I've never seen it full.

. . .

Cavers visiting the Three Counties System beneath the lake need to watch out that the added weight of water doesn't lead to the plug at the bottom of the shakehole giving way and a tidal wave being sent down into the cave system . . .

Around a week after the Hidden Earth '09 conference (c.3rd October 2009), Bob Toogood visited the Lower Main Stream Passage in Agen Allwedd and found evidence of flooding, with foam about 1.8m above the floor in the relatively wide section of passage near Quarry Corner, just prior to the approach to the lake and upper waterfall below the climb into Biza Passage. He also reported that there was what appeared to be 'green algae' all the way down the Lower Main Stream Passage, although the true colour may have been affected by the LED lamps in use. The entire route from Southern Stream Passage up to the 5th Choke was apparently 'lethal' from the slipperiness of the rock underfoot, which usually happens after a period of high water conditions and humidity in the cave. Yet this took place towards the end of a (relatively) dry summer in Wales.

In addition, flooding was found high up in Biza Passage, beyond the switchback sections which can sometimes fill up with water in wet weather conditions, that resulted with two previously unheard of 'lakes' of ponded water appearing - the second one ending at a sump. When Bob and I discussed this, it appeared at the time as if the water had entered the cave from above, around the 4th Choke end of Biza Passage, during some catastrophic rather than routine event.

Then, in mid-November the same year, I heard from Steve Pedrazzoli that someone he had been speaking to recently had found that the lake near Chartist Cave on Mynydd Llangynidr ? which I reckoned must have been Llyn y Garn-fawr ? had disappeared completely and there was a recent large hole, where subsidence had occurred, which had opened up adjacent to it. This lake is some distance to the northwest of where the flooding appeared below in Agen Allwedd.

So, over the next few weeks, until the water in the lake pictured above has drained to a more normal level, cavers ought to BE CAREFUL in the Three Counties System.

 

[Fulk]

Any inkling whether any caves may be prone to any significant modification along the lines of Swildons in the 68 flood?

Robin

My guess would be that the places most likely to be modified are boulder chokes, rather than 'solid' passages. For example, there are several boulder chokes in the Main Sream Passage between Top Sink and Lancaster Hole, a few of which are regularly traversed on tourist trips ? e.g. the ones at Stop Pot, Oxbow Corner, Stake Pot and Fall Pot, all of which show evidence of movement. If I was going there in the near future, I'd be a bit more careful than usual. (I understand that when the Swildon's '40' was modified, what happened is that a load of rocks choking the passage were washed out, rather than bed-rock being washed out ? is  that correct?)

 

[Alex]

Other modifications can include finding whopping big tree trunks blocking passages. New passages opened up by shale/mud being washed out. In-situ handlines/ropes trashed, so be careful on any fixed rigging in flood prone areas.

 

[Pitlamp]

Did anyone gping past valley Entrance notice if it was resurging?

I suspect not. I was talking to some cavers from a Scottish club who'd been in Valley Entrance on Sunday morning (as the water was going down) and they were talking about a foam flood line just above the lip of the short pitch down into the KMC. The level of that is several metres below the level of Valley Entrance- you descend a fair bit as you go in along the Roof Tunnel (as a quick glance at the elevation on the excellent ULSA survey reveals). So I doubt that VE would have acted as a resurgence for any water from the KMC.

 

[Ian P]

We were out caving on Saturday.
Rowten first trip, got to a small ledge just off the floor below the main drop, impressive sight. Went over to Jingling pot, this had a good waterfall going down. There was a couple just exiting (the gulley route). They said it was OK in there but had got very cold due to the very strong air flow, and had come out early.
Yordas was fully sumped off but not flowing out of the gate.

Last visit was Valley Entrance, probably about 2.00 pm, so at the "peak" of high water.
We opened the lid expecting to get blown back by the wind, but there was nothing. We could hear water falling but not "thundering".  We made our way along the passage, there was water coming in from all the inlets. The "duck" was normal height. Near the end the water depth increased forming a continuous "canal". As the ceiling got lower and the water got deeper we were surprised to see a P hanger just above the water line, (start of the traverse I think) just ahead the passage sumped. We made our way out, other than feeling a bit of resistance from the water flowing in the deep sections, there were no real issues.

It was really good to be out seeing the conditions, but we did enjoy the cafe afterwards 

Ian

 

[Pegasus]

This photo has been very popular on our facebook page, so thought I'd post it here.

Not sure who it's by, happy to acknowledge if you let me know who you are 

Don't suppose anyone's got a shot of Hull Pot full??

 

[paul]

Here's a photo of the photo in Pen-y-Ghent cafe with it pretty full:

 

[Roger W]

Can anyone read the date on that photo?

 

[al]

My guess is Sunday 29th January 1997.

 

[Chocolate fireguard]

That was a Wednesday.

 

[bograt]

That was a Wednesday.

The pendant award is on its way ------

 

[Peter Burgess]

Sunday 24th January 1992

http://karenslatcher.blogspot.hu/2012/08/after-quite-debate-about-weather-we.html