2012 Leeds floods

The 2012 Leeds floods were devastating flash floods that are affecting Leeds and surrounding areas across spring and summer 2012.

9 April
Heavy freak rainfall caused flash flooding in some areas in the south, including some that forced the closure of Leeds Docklands until 12 April. 100 homes were left without power in northern Clearwater for eight days after flooding overloaded an electrical substation.

27 April
On 27 April, Cocoa Promenade was closed due to minor flooding from the sea as a result of rough seas. Rainfall contributed to minor flooding in San Costa.

29 April
Heavy rainfall, approaching as much as the average monthly total falling in just 6 hours in some areas, caused widespread flash floods to strike Alum Chine, Clearwater, Downtown Leeds, Durley Chine, Pine Forest, San Costa, and Sunshine Coast.

In Alum Chine, flash floods flooded a railway platform at Alum Chine station, and Island Boulevard was closed after it "turned into a river, literally". Arowana Peninsula was sealed off as the Cocoa River overflowed and flooded the port, bus stop, and tourism areas.

In Clearwater, the areas surrounding Clearwater Beach including Clearwater Promenade were sealed off as minor coastal flooding from the sea occurred.

In Downtown Leeds, the Leeds River reached it's highest ever level, but recently upgraded flood defences prevented any flooding from taking place, with the river peaking at 5cm below the top of the defences, or 4 metres higher than usual. However there was some flooding, and the entrance of Leeds Interchange was closed due to a drainage failure causing two feet of standing water to block it. Buses entering were told to come in through the exit and take extreme caution. Buses going out used the exit as usual.

In Durley Chine, drains were overwhelmed by rainfall and the Chine Gardens were shut after they were flooded. Durley Chine beach was also closed as floodwaters from the Chine Gardens washed over the Island Promenade and onto the beach.

In Pine Forest, there was minimal flooding along the banks of the Leeds River, but the main flooding was due to a blocked drain which led to three feet of standing water flooding into Leeds Mall at peak shopping time, forcing it's closure and the rescue of 20 people from the roof by helicopters. A further 500 shoppers who were inside managed to escape before the exits were fully blocked by water. Later, it took three firefighters' pumps over 9 hours to drain the mall of water. Also there was some disruption as a blocked drain caused minor flooding in and around Main Gate.

In San Costa, the hardest-hit area of the 29 April floods and the second of the overall floods, the entire town centre was flooded by the Leeds River, reaching twelve feet deep in places. Nine people were killed after being washed away in the town centre in seven separate incidents. Ten feet of floodwaters caused a row of terraced houses to collapse in the outskirts, with several people suffering minor injuries. The area's famous San Costa Marina on the Leeds River was destroyed, with piers and pontoons being ripped apart and over a hundred prized yachts, some costing up to £10m, were set loose and ended up smashing up against the riverbank and into some trees a mile downstream. As floodwaters receded, a ferry that usually conducted tours of the river was left stranded on the roof of a building in the town centre as other buildings around it collapsed, leaving tonnes and tonnes of debris everywhere. The ferry, owned by a private tours company, was later written off. Over 1,400 homes were inundated by floodwaters and a further 2,000 were left without power until 2 May. A further 700 businesses, mainly in the town centre, were flooded. The estimated cost of repairing and flood defences in San Costa alone could reach £1bn.

In Sunshine Coast, flash floods from the Cocoa River washed away a young boy who was playing by the riverbank with his friends, who escaped. On 4 May the body of the boy was found, washed up on a riverbank underneath East Bridge. Also an off-duty police officer was killed after his car overturned and was swept away by floodwaters as he attempted to cross a road covered with three feet of fast-flowing water. East Bridge was closed, with fears that the North Bridge disaster could happen all over again, but a structural check on 3 May confirmed there is no danger of it collapsing and it re-opened to all traffic. Almost all of Sunshine Coast was left without power as a local electricity substation was flooded and destroyed, with most power restored by 3 May.

Elsewhere, floods hit areas in and around nearby Home, including Water Hills, Lake Home, Home Promenade, and Main Gate Park. The East Quays at G-Ville were closed on 29 April as the river there burst it's banks. The West Quays, also in G-Ville, were closed at the same time, but for a briefer period of time, due to standing water.

May
Following on from the devastating floods of 29 April, another spate of floods hit the nation on 2 May.

Another period of heavy rainfall, as much as a month's total in 8 hours, hit the area and caused a second wave of flash floods to hit Cardano, Clearwater, Cola Hills, Downtown Leeds, and Sunshine Coast.

In Cardano, the third hardest hit place of the entire floods, floodwaters 8 feet deep rushed through the town centre, washing away vehicles, benches, and even trees, in scenes similar to those seen in nearby San Costa days earlier. 8 people were killed in total after drowning in the town centre flooding, and 95% of the town centre was under at least a foot of water causing havoc to over 2,000 businesses. 400 homes in the outskirts were flooded, and 1,000 were left without power until 4 May. Drinking water in the area was contaminated after floods deluged the water purification plant in the area, and people were told to not use water out of the taps at all as it may contain harmful illnesses.

In Clearwater, 3 tourists were killed after being washed away by the Clearwater River as it broke it's banks for the first time in five years. Floodwaters a foot deep flooded northern Clearwater, with the southern zone maining mostly untouched, except for the entrance to the new Penhallow Hotel which was flooded after a drain broke. Due to flooding in the north, southern Clearwater became a virtual island for a while with temporarily no land access to the rest of Leeds.

In Cola Hills, there was severe flooding for the first time in six years. Flooding at the bottom end of the Leeds Transport Museum saw vehicles moved up to the top end, which involved starting the Concorde's engines for the first time since 2002 so it could taxi up to the top of the aircraft area. Flooding also inundated the Orange Pansy Museum, although luckily floodwaters didn't get high enough to reach the orange pansy itself. At Waterfall station, water reached 3 feet deep, forcing the cancellation of all services in Leeds due to safety issues with the flooding and aftermath for the fourth day in a row.

In Downtown Leeds, the worst affected place from the entire floods, scenes akin to the Dublin floods of October 2011 struck as the big, dense, powerful suburb was brought to it's knees by relentless rain which eventually led to widespread flooding through the busy streets. It was the first time Downtown Leeds had ever suffered any major flooding - it had been relatively unscathed on 29 April, with flooding just at Leeds Interchange - but this time, the river topped out at 5 metres higher than usual, almost a metre higher than the top of the recently installed flood defences which helped to stop flooding on 29 April. 90% of the suburb was under at least some water at the peak of the floods, which led to everyone being evacuated to the top of tall buildings in the suburb, including the City Tower which wasn't even complete yet. Downtown Leeds was the second hardest hit location in the entirety of the floods, after San Costa. The President was evacuated from the Presidential Palace, which was just saved in the end by a ring of sandbags. Tortimer was evacuated from the Town Hall and despite the erection of a ring of sandbags, a one metre section of the sandbag wall collapsed and minor flooding entered the Town Hall. Also, Central Park was under the deepest water, reaching six feet deep due to it's location at the lowest point of Downtown Leeds, and so where lots of the water ends up flowing to. Flooding in Downtown Leeds alone could cost £5bn to repair as the lower floors and basements of almost all the skyscrapers, bus stations, train stations, and important buildings were flooded.

In Sunshine Coast, flooding was less severe than on 29 April, but nonetheless deadly. A tourist was killed after tripping over and falling into flooding from the Cocoa River. Along Cocoa Promenade, the drains could not handle the amount of water entering them, and they overflowed onto the Promenade, flooding it, the beach, and around 100 seafront businesses such as arcades and fish and chip shops.

June
On 19 June, a thunderstorm caused flooding in the Chine Gardens which then flowed down onto Alum Chine beach. As a result, both were evacuated.

On 25 June, minor flooding hit parts of Saltburn Heights as a result of a thunderstorm. Flooding at an electricity substation in Cola Hills on 26 June left 1,900 customers in the east of that suburb without power.

July

 * Main article: Windstorm Draco

In early July, Windstorm Draco caused massive rainfall in Leeds, with even more record-breaking flooding than that of earlier that year in April and May. Windstorm Draco brought flooding between 3 July and 10 July.

Flooding returned on 13 July when a low pressure system dumped heavy rainfall across the region, though not as much as that dropped by Draco. The majority of the flooding occurred in Clearwater where the Clearwater River overflowed.