I am delighted to see that someone has come up with some realistic figures
for this. It annoyed me to see in the media 60 mm (just over 2 inches in 2
hours). It was damned obvious from this damage that it was much more than
this.
I would like Philip Eden to make something of this important issue in
his next column in the telegraph as I feel ( as I am sure other do ) that an
event like this is extremely important and significant.


Gavin Staples.

The hasty reporting of an inappropriate rainfall figure can hardly be
called an "important issue". The media thought they had to come up with a
figure so they grabbed the first one they got. That's what they do. And what
does it matter? I can't quite visualise the rescue services saying "2 inches
in 2 hours? - they can sort that themselves".
To the people of Boscastle the event itself will remain in their
memories for ever, but in a larger meteorological context it is not
siginificant. The south-west is known to be prone to these rare but devasting
downpours. Even the dear old Guardian has yet to attribute it to Global
Warming but I've got my beady eye on them.

Tudor Hughes, Warlingham, Surrey.

Gavin Staples wrote:

It annoyed me to see in the media 60 mm (just over
2 inches in 2 hours). It was damned obvious from this damage that it
was much more than this.


How did you arrive at your estimate of the amount from the damage ? Is
the particular topography not critical or are you familiar with that and
the catchment ?

Then again 60mm in two hours is a greater rate than the EA's 133mm in 7
hours, if one could compare rates over a period in that way, but of
course is only half of Philip Eden's extrapolation of 115-125mm in two
(not seven) hours.

Are asessments of damage against rainfall rates and periods routinely
made for problem (or any) areas ? I guess somebody must have it
modelled.

Regards,
Tom

My main reason for being annoyed over the issue of whether it was 60 or as
we later found out 133 mm of rain, was that I saw it reported in an overseas
newspaper that "British West Country suffers floods after 60 mm of rain" in
one foreign paper. That makes us as a nation look a bit stupid.
I am delighted to see that not only has it been resolved, that also the
Met office have had discussions to see how they can improve forecasts and
warnings with some new radar that they have.



"TudorHgh" wrote in message
...
I am delighted to see that someone has come up with some realistic
figures
for this. It annoyed me to see in the media 60 mm (just over 2 inches in
2
hours). It was damned obvious from this damage that it was much more than
this.
I would like Philip Eden to make something of this important issue in
his next column in the telegraph as I feel ( as I am sure other do ) that
an
event like this is extremely important and significant.


Gavin Staples.

The hasty reporting of an inappropriate rainfall figure can
hardly be
called an "important issue". The media thought they had to come up with a
figure so they grabbed the first one they got. That's what they do. And
what
does it matter? I can't quite visualise the rescue services saying "2
inches
in 2 hours? - they can sort that themselves".
To the people of Boscastle the event itself will remain in their
memories for ever, but in a larger meteorological context it is not
siginificant. The south-west is known to be prone to these rare but
devasting
downpours. Even the dear old Guardian has yet to attribute it to Global
Warming but I've got my beady eye on them.

Tudor Hughes, Warlingham, Surrey.

"Bernard Burton" wrote in
message ...

Perhaps the EA are taking an integrated value derived from
the radar ... snip

I'm reliably informed that this is the case. I've seen reports
of a flash flood also at Crackington Haven, the next village
up the coast, located at the end of an even smaller (and
therefore flashier) catchment. But half the water must
have entered the larger catchments on the other side of
the watershed (ie. in SE Cornwall) of the Ottery and
Inny rivers which drain into the Tamar, so there must have
been a notable (if shallower) flood wave on these streams
too. Anyone have any local knowledge ... around
Launceston for instance?

Philip Eden

"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
...

"Bernard Burton" wrote in
message ...

Perhaps the EA are taking an integrated value derived from
the radar ... snip

I'm reliably informed that this is the case. I've seen reports
of a flash flood also at Crackington Haven, the next village
up the coast, located at the end of an even smaller (and
therefore flashier) catchment. But half the water must
have entered the larger catchments on the other side of
the watershed (ie. in SE Cornwall) of the Ottery and
Inny rivers which drain into the Tamar, so there must have
been a notable (if shallower) flood wave on these streams
too. Anyone have any local knowledge ... around
Launceston for instance?

Philip Eden

I heard that the flash effect was amplified by a road bridge
upstream from Bocastle which at first dammed the flow. Its
collapse caused the destructive wave when the resevoir
it had formed drained.

Cheers, Alastair.


Cheers, Alastair.