Saturday 7 December 2013

Gales and Tides



Thursday was a horrendous day on The Wirral.  Gale force winds created a tidal surge that left a swathe of destruction across Wirral’s coastal towns today. Such was the power of the sea at noon that sections of railings and feet-thick concrete tide-breaks were ripped apart and the debris scattered across the promenade at Hoylake and Meols, forcing roads to be closed.  There was similar damage at West Kirby seafront, which was closed to traffic as flood water raced across the promenade taking several parked cars in its wake and smashing them against walls opposite the marine lake.  Six of the staff at Tanskey's restaurant on West Kirby promenade became trapped inside and the lifeboat was sent out to check they were OK.  One of the staff said “The cast iron benches outside, which are concreted into the ground, are floating past and a Volvo estate floated past earlier.”

The photos of the tidal damage are from the Wirral Globe.
 
The whole of the shopping mall at New Brighton was flooded.  This was the view of Morrisons from the Lifeboat Station on the opposite side of the ‘road’.


Residents at a new build flat block in Birkenhead, Merseyside, were forced to flee their homes after the roof was blown off.  A spokesman for Merseyside Police said: "The flat roof of a new build residential block was blown into the road, onto cars and into trees causing a large amount of damage.

The Morrisons store at the seaside resort's Marine Point retail park was forced to close amid widespread chaos.  Its delivery bay was submerged under three feet of water, trapping a truck in its tracks, and the ground floor of the store was flooded.  The flagship Morrisons store, is part of a new multi-million pound complex, which also boasts a Grosvenor Casino, a cinema and a Travelodge.  People staying at the Travelodge were trapped inside as the hotel was flooded and police cordoned off all roads leading to the seaside resort. Cars were left stranded after their owners couldn't get to them and there were even reports of a car being washed down the high street.  

Our conservatory began to creak and leak (in new places) and Partner-who-loves-tea and I went out for lunch to get away from it and to celebrate the end of her fast – she had a dental appointment first thing in the morning followed by routine fasting blood tests so a decent lunch was well-deserved.  We treated ourselves to poached salmon (PWLT) and roast beef and Yorkshire pudding (me) at the Seven Stars in Thornton Hough. 

From there we went to Hooton and as we wound through the lanes we were overtaken by a police car with its blues and twos going.  A few corners later we found out why.  A tree was down across the road.  It’s a good job we stayed on at the Seven Stars for PWLT to have some sticky toffee pudding or we might have been under that tree.

Photos from my mobile phone.

18 comments:

  1. I've been keeping abreast of things via the BBC website and some other coastal dwelling friends but no one else seems to have got such stories to relate. It sounds as though the Wirral on the west suffered more than the east despite the predictions.

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  2. The first picture is superb. You were very brave venturing out in that lot.

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    1. I hope you didn't think that first photo was mine, Adrian, it was from the Wirral Globe. I must admit when we ventured out we hadn't realised how bad the storm was. We tend to get used to a couple of storms each winter and lose bits of house or fence because we are on a hill and the highest thing for a mile in one direction. The real damage around the Wirral was as a result of the tidal surge and I'm glad to say we were not on any of the coast roads.

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    2. It doesn't matter. I would have loved it to be mine or yours. I lost a big tripod and a camera once. They are brave taking such images.

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  3. Phew! I am glad that you didn't suff anything worse than creaks and leaks to the conservatory (which is, of course, bad enough)!
    Northern Germany has been under severe hurricane warnings for Thursday and Friday. A colleague of mine who lives in Hamburg but works in Stuttgart during the week was to fly home on Thursday, but all flights to Hamburg were cancelled. He and some others organized a rented car and drove up all the way instead. I hope they got there alright.

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  4. That was a rough weather system, and I'm amazed at just how much damage was done. It looks just like hurricane weather that we have here.
    So glad to know that you and Jo are okay and were not terribly affected.
    Thank goodness for sticky toffee pudding, if not......glad you're both okay.

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  5. Oh, I saw photos on BBC from...it said New Brighton, Wirral and I did wonder about you and hope you were okay! Good thing you had that nice meal and missed that tree!
    I am always amazed at the calmness of the British character, amazed and very proud since I am related to Brits! What a powerful, scary storm, let's hope you never see the likes of that one again!
    I saw you have had some trouble sleeping, so I have song for you on my post today, you might know it, you might not, but even so, my wish for you is the same, sweet dreams when you need it! :-)

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  6. From someone who lives in a hurricane area, my sympathy on the storm, and the damage and leaks. These storms never cease to amaze me with their power, and i hope no one was killed.

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  7. Oh my goodness! You did have a bad time. I didn't realize the storm surge hit the west coast also. We have some friends who live on the Wirral in Parkgate. They have only a small low built bungalow so no doubt they will have suffered some damage. We'll have to contact them. Glad you missed the tree. Yeah for sticky toffee pudding!

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  8. I'm so sorry that you've had such horrible weather and so much damage. My heart goes out to all who have lost or suffered from this. I hope you are all OK in your home. I'm so glad that tree missed you! Life is all about timing and having toffee pudding (I'm not sure what that is, but it sounds yummy!) is a great lifesaver!

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  9. Egads.... never expected all that! So happy your house (mostly) escaped, and that you and PWLT stayed for dessert at the restaurant... timing is everything!

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  10. Weather is so weird. I'm so sorry things were so bad in the Wirral; I saw some of the photos on the BBC.co.uk web site on Friday before we left for the weekend.

    I'm so glad you're safe and hope that the damage to your house and conservatory wasn't too bad. It's so freakish; I talked to my sister-in-law in Leigh, Essex, yesterday, and she said they weren't even aware of the storm, 'til the boys came back from the pub and told her about it.

    Take care and God bless, xoxox Carol

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  11. That first picture is stunning and amazing! And how glad that you didn't encounter that tree at the wrong moment. I confess I hadn't realised the weather was that bad up in your part of the world, I had somehow only registered it in in Scotland. I hope your conservatory is now back to normal.

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    1. Hopefully the repairers are coming on Thursday to fix the conservatory. (Despite the forecast of more gales that day!)

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  12. I'm so glad your experience wasn't any worse! I have to agree with Canadian Chickadee, no matter where you live, there can always be bizarre weather.
    Um, by the way, PWLT, I'd love to hear a description of sticky toffee pudding! Sounds marvelous!

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    1. Right, we shall have a post on the subject of sticky toffee pudding!

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  13. Amazing bravery to have taken that photo, whoever did, but I hope the damage was minimal.

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  14. Gosh you had it bad. We too have had some horrendous weather and damage in parts but we personally have not had any damage. Does not look too good for the next few days either.

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