What Storm Dennis left behind in York (and elsewhere)

This is Skeldergate, after the passage of Storm Dennis. The shot was taken three days ago. Skeldergate runs parallel with the River Ouse, which lies behind the buildings on the right of the shot. The flooding is a sight that isn't too unusual. Quite a few of the recent buildings are built with living accomodation starting at first floor level, but older buildings can still be inundated.

Skeldergate has a 2000 year long history. The area was within the Roman civilian settlement and as the west bank of the River Ouse it was always important for trade and industry.

Skeldergate was the principal dockside street of medieval York and this stretch of the river continued to be the main port for seagoing vessels until the 19th century. The riverside was lined with warehouses which stored produce for export, before it was loaded onto boats at Queen's Staith (constructed 1660).

Flooding in York once affected large numbers of properties, but following major flooding at the end of 1978 and again in 1982, major flood defences were built and have worked well since then, until 2015 when the control system for a large flood gate on the River Foss failed and resulted in serious flooding. Since then a major upgrade of the defences has started, though it will be several years before all the work is completed. There are currently no defences to protect Skeldergate.

Ian

[Casablanca]

Ouch, that really is high. I always feel for those cars in the ground floor car park too under the flats. Hope it all settles soon.

[Jesika]

It’s an all too familiar sight, isn’t it? We can only be thankful that the defences held this time. j

[Peter H]

Wonderful shot and great history notes.

[william wooderson]

I fear flooding is going to become a much more frequent problem with climate change...

[Peter Dulis]

nice

[carol white]

Hope the flooding recedes quickly. A super shot, great reflections

[KoalaGardens🐨]

so much water - stay safe

[Richard Sayer]

Looks like a latter day Venice... and that's been flooded too!

[gloria jones]

That is a lot of water. Your capture of the water reflections is great.

[Pyrrhula]

Great shot of the troubles you got. So sorry for the victems.

[Janet]

River Ouse - such a misnomer!

[bruni]

My first thought was you're vacationing in Venice. Interesting narrative. hope not too much damage this time around.

[Kathy A]

Wow, so much water! Great reflections!

[bkb in the city]

Great shot

[Sylvia du Toit]

Sad to see the damage but good reflections

[Dione Giorgio]

Ooooooooh! Looks like Venice when the high tide is bigger than normal. I home it cleared by now.

[Nina Ganci]

wow! My first thought too was Venice! Ouch! This flooding is bad. Hope not too much damage
Brilliant shot

[Fisher Family]

@casablanca @jesika2 @peadar @will_wooderson @pdulis @carolmw @koalagardens @vignouse @seattlite @pyrrhula @janturnbull @bruni @kjarn @bkbinthecity @sdutoit @sangwann @ninaganci

Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs on this rather sad shot, I am grateful for them all.

It is an interesting walk around the city centre during floods. There are views of the floods, but relatively few areas are affected when compared with the times before the flood defences were constructed, and for most people life goes on very much as normal, with floods being a background event. Yes, for those affected it is a terrible experience, but the numbers of those affected has been drastically reduced over the past 40 years.

Ian