Report details impact of disaster one year on
Last year’s devastating floods in Cumbria caused £276m worth of damage, according to a new assessment by the county council.
The figures, which have appeared on the first anniversary of the floods, estimate that there was £124m worth of damage to shops, farms and factories during last year's floods. In addition, the inundation resulted in £91m damage to homes and £34m to the county's bridges and roads.
In November 2009 unprecedented rainfall across the county caused rivers to burst their banks, flooding towns and villages. The most badly affected town was Cockermouth where the high street was completely flooded.
The council said that about 150 flooded households had still not returned to their properties and 198 people in the affected areas had sought psychological help. And the county’s economically important tourism industry had lost " £15m including £2.5m losses on cancelled bookings alone- a 7% drop year on year, although visitor numbers had now stabilized.
Of the 20 road bridges across Cumbria destroyed or damaged during the floods, 17 are now open to traffic again.
