Floods won’t dampen Market Rasen’s spirit! Community pulls together in weather crisis

With estimated damage to more than 100 homes, flash flooding dealt a huge blow to Market Rasen – but community spirit helped the town pull through.

A large volume of rainfall came down across Lincolnshire on Tuesday, following weeks of hot weather moving the county into drought status last week.

Spalding, Louth and Pinchbeck were some of the areas affected, but none more so than in Market Rasen, where it is estimated that over 100 homes were damaged.

A frantic scramble began in the town to ensure standing water was drained away and did not make its way inside too many buildings, though it became impossible to stop at times.

Dozens of roads were closed in and around Market Rasen, as emergency services worked through the evening to clear water and debris, as well as offer support to businesses or families impacted by the floods.

Areas such as the New Life Church and Festival Hall are offering safe spaces for people seeking support, or maybe just a calming chat after the ordeal of Tuesday night.

Councillor Stephen Bunney, Liberal Democrat member of Lincolnshire County Council and West Lindsey District Council, worked tirelessly throughout Tuesday and Wednesday to support the local residents – and was quick to praise all involved with the recovery job.

He told The Lincolnite: “It all escalated very quickly. In certain places the rain was reaching knee depths, even waist high in some areas, so it was a very serious issue we had to address.

“Emergency services did a really good job pumping out the water, and it was so good to see so many people helping their neighbours and others in the community.

“I’d also like to thank Travis Perkins, who opened up and provided extra sandbags, I think as a result of all that the amount of damage was reduced.”

Perhaps one of the worst affected by the flooding was Peter Rhodes, an electrical appliance retailer on Oxford Street, an area of Market Rasen that felt the full brunt of standing water on Tuesday evening.

Stepping inside the store it is clear for all to see the impact of the flooding, which has resulted in the site closing while damages are repaired and water is cleared from the shop floor.

Ashley, a salesman at Peter Rhodes, told The Lincolnite that staff were left in shock by the flooding, which tripped the electrics almost immediately in the store.

He said: “I live in Louth so was at home when the heavy rain started, and word quickly spread that the store had been flooded. We were in shock, the whole showroom plunged into complete darkness and I felt helpless as there wasn’t much I could do.

“We’ve had to take a few appliances out to get tested, but it’s highly likely we will need to throw them out due to water damage. Pallets also ended up on the other side of the yard, which ended up like a river.

“We are lucky to have a very loyal customer base, so hopefully they will understand the issues we’ve faced and bear with us. Our Louth store is still open and phone lines are diverted to there, we are also hoping to restart deliveries soon.”

The Salvation Army on John Street also saw minor damage to carpets, but territorial envoy Terry Carpenter said the overwhelming feeling was one of regret, as he could not leave his house to help people during the crisis.

“We should have been on the frontline but couldn’t leave our houses or access cars”, Terry said. “We saw how desperate a situation it was becoming and I felt powerless and unable to do anything about it.

“Most of our volunteers live in Wragby so followed police instructions to not come to Market Rasen, we’ve been out to visit houses today in the hope of helping.

Heather, 64, and Helen, 60, work at the Boots store by the Market Place, and they were sat on camping chairs outside the shop on Wednesday morning to speak with the local community.

They said: “The rain was heavy and continued throughout the night, it tripped our electrics which has obviously meant we couldn’t open the store this morning. We’ve worked here for close to a decade and it has never happened on this scale before.

“We are here to help concerned customers with information about their medication or prescriptions, showing them where they can go elsewhere until our store is cleared to open again.

“We figured it was best to direct people in person, rather than leaving notices on the door. Everyone has been very understanding and sympathetic of the situation, we’ve even been offered coffees to help us through the morning.”

A common theme appeared to be mentions of the “Victorian” drainage system in the central areas of Market Rasen, which clearly struggled to handle the intensity of the rain shower on Tuesday.

Ashley at Peter Rhodes continued: “Flooding is unfortunately very common on the street outside the shop, but this is the first time it has made its way in. The old drainage system doesn’t take a lot to overflow and flood, it’s been an issue for a while.”

This was echoed by Mr. Carpenter from the Salvation Army on John Street, who said: “Flooding is very regular on this street, I spoke to one resident who said a very similar thing happened to his home on this day last year, as well!

“It’s happened about four times in recent memory, but this is definitely the worst it has been. If anybody needs support we are more than happy to help, anything we can do, just ask.”

Cllr Bunney added: “There’s no doubt the land is very dry, and that would have had an effect on the flooding but it won’t have been entirely down to that. The runoff on the surface has been higher, but again you have issues of silt, straw and debris going into the drains and blocking them up.”