Sunday, 01 August 2010

Cumbria flood recovery support

Flood recovery pg Special Cumbria floods magazine: Helpline numbers; £100 million set to be paid to flood victims; 6-9 month recovery guide

Bragg's praise

melvynbragggg Cumbrian-born author Melvyn Bragg went on a morale-boosting tour of Cockermouth to visit traders hit by the floods

Heartless thief

Cockermouth flood family photo A Cockermouth family who were rescued from their flooded home have had their saved Xmas presents stolen

Spring date for bridge

Northside bridge photo A new £5 million road bridge will be in place in Workington by late spring 2010, it has been announced (18 comments)

Homes confusion

November floods photo 6 A holiday home owner says there has been a breakdown in communication over getting flood victims into homes

Legal move

Thirlmere photo A law firm is preparing to mount what lawyers expect will become a mass legal action against United Utilities over the floods (9 comments)

Service continues

Train photo A vital train service which connects both sides of Workington will continue into the new year

REPLAY: Quiz county highways roads chief

A0512516 Geoff Holden, highways project manager with Cumbria County Council, answered your questions about the county's roads and bridges after the floods. You asked him about all aspects of the recovery work . . .

Bridge closure confirmed

Broughton bridge photo Experts have confirmed that a second west Cumbrian road bridge damaged by floods will not reopen for many months (9 comments)

No demolition of flats

Keswick collapse photo A block of flats which is teetering on the brink of collapse in the wake of the floods will not have to be demolished

It Bites' Cumbria flood aid single set for release

It Bite photo A music video has been shot to accompany the re-release of a smash-hit song to help the plight of Cumbria’s floods victims.

£2.5m lost aleady

Trout Hotel photo Last month’s catastrophic floods have already cost Cumbria £2.5 million in cancelled holiday bookings, say tourism chiefs (1 comment)

Traffic chaos warning

Trevor Fee photo A councillor has warned of traffic chaos if plans to end a free school bus service on the north side of the Derwent go ahead

Tesco open today

Northside Tesco photo A new Tesco store at Northside has opened - just 13 days after the shops giant set to work building it

'We learned our lessons'

Cumbria fire photo How the fire service used the lessons learned from the 2005 Carlisle floods to help deal with the west Cumbria disaster

Going back home

Keswick floods photo Residents from a flood-hit Keswick street returned to their repaired homes just three weeks after they were wrecked

Autographs all gone

Claire Jones photo A Sellafield engineer has told how the floods wrecked both her home and her cherished collection of celebrity autographs

Air ambulance base

Air ambulance photo An air ambulance has been based in Flimby to deal with emergencies on the south side of the River Derwent

Grin and bare all

Stobbart calendar photo 5 Kind-hearted contractors from Stobbarts Ltd have stripped off for a calendar to raise cash for the flood appeal

Two year wait

Northside bridge photo It is likely to be two years before permanent replacements for the Northside and Calva bridges are in place (39 comments)

Let locals do it

Jamie Reed photo Copeland MP Jamie Reed has urged the Govt to put pressure on insurers to let local firms carry out flood repair work

Floods Xmas break

November floods photo A country house hotel is offering a family or couple affected by the floods the chance to win a Xmas break

New GP surgeries

Cockermouth GP surgery photo Two temporary GP surgeries, with 21 consulting rooms, have been put up in flood-hit Cockermouth

Bridge disappointment

New bridge photo Stranded residents living north of the River Derwent in Workington will have to wait at least six months for a road bridge. (27 comments)

Roads still closed

Bridge check photo Bridge and road closures are still in place across Cumbria following the floods

A daily struggle

Northside family photo A family has told how it is struggling to carry on with everyday life due to the transport chaos caused by the floods

Free Asda bus

Asda sign A free bus will be taking people living in Workington’s Northside to Asda in Carlisle

Workington footbridge opens - but no road bridge until next summer

New bridge photo A new footbridge reuniting areas of Workington has opened - but it will be at least six months until a road bridge is in place (12 comments)

Temporary Tesco store to open in Workington next week

Workington Tesco photo A temporary Tesco store will open in Workington’s north side next Monday to help ease the problems facing the flood-hit community.

Lighting up for Xmas

Cockermouth lights photo Hundreds of people turned out to see Cockermouth's Christmas lights switch on, just weeks after the floods hit

Firms move back in

November floods photo 10 A firm of architects has become one of the first businesses in Cockermouth’s Main Street to reopen

Webchat replay: Cumbria under water

Rosie Winterton photo Floods recovery minister Rosie Winterton took part in a live webchat offering help and advice to flood-hit Cumbrians

Turned into nomads

Allen family photo A family who showed Prince Charles round their damaged home say a housing crisis is forcing them to become nomads

In Uncle Bill's memory

Bethany Galbraith photo The niece of hero PC Bill Barker has recorded a CD in his memory to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance

New bridge to open

ptbridgegaps2 Northside will be reunited with the rest of Workington when a temporary footbridge opens on Monday morning.

'You need to say sorry'

Hunter Davies photo Flood-hit locals in Workington are demanding an apology from acclaimed author Hunter Davies after a crime 'slur' (23 comments)

Cockermouth lights switch-on

Cockermouth lights photo Hundreds of people turned out to see Cockermouth's Christmas lights switch on - about two weeks after the floods

New bus service

railwayneww A special bus service is running from Seaton and Northside to the new railway station, Workington North

Minister's praise for work

Hilary Benn photo Environment secretary Hilary Benn watched as work to reunite a community split in two by the floods swung into action

Big repair bill

Trout Hotel photo Cockermouth's Trout Hotel is facing a £3 million repair bill after its ground floor was destroyed by the floods

TV times for soldiers

Rob Blackstock photo Soldiers building a bridge over the River Derwent have some home comfort – thanks to the mum pf the officer in charge

In memory of Bill

Barker tree photo Workington shoppers have posted hundreds of messages in memory of hero PC Bill Barker on a town centre Xmas tree

Floods heroine

Pauline Rotarides photo An off-duty care worker braved waist-high flood water to help rescue a blind, elderly woman trapped in her home

Elvis steps in to help

Elvis impersonator photo Elvis Presley impersonator Stevie Las Vegas was all shook up after reading about the plight of a disabled flood victim

Stranded at centre

Paul Irving photo A severely disabled former soldier is stranded at a Cockermouth reception centre more than a week after the floods struck

'We were right to say stay away'

sellafield photo Sellafield bosses have defended their decision to ask workers from UK partner sites to stay away from Cumbria

Stay away from Cumbria

George Beveridge  photo A top Sellafield boss has come under fire after he urged workers to stay away to help Cumbria's flood recovery (9 comments)

Bridge building disruption

ptbridgegaps2 People have warned there might be disruption to roads while work is carried out on the new Workington footbridge

Bridge build ongoing

Bridge photo Preparations for a temporary footbridge in Workington were continuing yesterday with the help of Workington’s RNLI

Reunited town

A new railway station that reunites a flood-hit town has been officially opened

Temporary bridge arrives

Workington bridge photo A temporary footbridge that will reconnect the split town of Workington has arrived in Cumbria

New rail station open

Workington train station photo A temporary railway station built in six days to help reunite the town of Workington devastated by floods opened today

Hero hotelier praised

Bridge rescue photo A hotel owner has been hailed a hero after risking his life to save a man who had been swept away by a flood-swollen river

More business units open

Mitchells photo Fourteen more temporary units are to be created for businesses forced out of their premises by flooding

A million thank-yous

Cumbria floods photo More than £1 million has already been raised to help victims of Cumbria's devastating floods

Volunteers praised

Red Cross photo The boss of the British Red Cross has praised the work being carried out by its volunteers in Cockermouth

'We have the skills to manage this'

Dr John Howarth photo It looks like a war zone – or at least a battleground. For a time – a frightening, bone-chilling day and a night – it was a battle

Strength from within

Cockermouth floods photo Nobody expects the return to normality in Cockermouth to be easy or swift. But everyone in the town knows how it will happen

Cumbria flood videos

November floods photo A round up of videos chronicling the floods. Includes bridge collapse and Cockermouth Main Street footage

Devastated by floods 3

Workington flooding 4 Slideshow: Here you'll find more photos from the floods and its aftermath from across the county

Devastated by floods 2

November floods maltings Slideshow: More photos, including Camerton Churchyard wrecked

Devastated by floods 1

November floods photo 2 Slideshow: On here you'll find flood photos from across the county . . .

Webchat replay: Cumbria under water

November Flood Photo 1 Over 5,000 people logged on to our liveblog covering the floods as they happened . . .

Webchat replay: Ask the experts

ptgilloway Ch Supt Kevin McGilloway and Allerdale council's deputy chief exec were live online to talk about the floods aftermath

Useful contacts and information

0002063W033.jpg Here's a list of useful numbers and information to help you get through the aftermath of the floods. . .

£100k flood fund donation

Floods/0512539.jpg Click here to find out how you can make a donation to the Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund, set up to help victims

Army building bridge

new bridge A temporary footbridge will be in place over the River Derwent by next Saturday after the army was drafted in to build it (7 comments)

Bridge collapse telecoms fear

Calva bridge photo The county council has warned all communications could be lost in parts of Workington if Calva Bridge collapses (2 comments)

Brave farmer's rescue

Andrew Nicholson  photo A Lorton farmer waded through more than five feet of water to rescue a frightened couple trapped in their flooded home

New base for businesses

Allison Some of Cockermouth’s firms are open for business this week after Mitchells Auction Company offered temporary premises

Barepot - the forgotten hamlet

Barepot photo The devastated residents of the tiny hamlet of Barepot are forgotten victims of the Cumbria floods (1 comment)

Work starts on new station

Northside station photo Work has begun to build a temporary railway station at Workington and Northern Rail are already laying on extra trains (6 comments)

Danger bridge drivers

Bridge photo Reckless drivers are risking their lives on kamikaze trips over Workington’s crumbling Calva Bridge (31 comments)

Temporary Tesco store

Workington Tesco photo Tesco is in talks with Allerdale council to build an emergency store on Workington’s stranded Northside estate

Long road to recovery

kesfloodsnew2 Key parts of west Cumbria’s road network ground to halt as bridge and road closures started to take their toll

We slept in loft with pets

kesfloodsnew1 One Keswick flood victim - the town's Dr Dolittle - said her first thought was for her pets when the floods came

Homeless teen lends a hand

ptzoerudd Zoe Rudd, left homeless after her house was destroyed by the floods, has been working as a volunteer at an emergency centre

Cumbria floods: Timeline

November floods photo Here's a summary of how things unfolded during the floods and their immediate aftermath...

Power supplies protected

November floods photo Engineers prevent power loss in event of Workington bridge collapse With video of Camerton Bridge collapse

Flood defences checks

November floods photo All of Cumbria’s flood defences will be assessed following last week’s floods, the Environment Agency said

Residents evacuated

Northside Bridge photo Scores of Workington residents spent the night in hotels after parts of the town were evacuated following a day of flood chaos

Cars float down street

November floods photo Homeless or stranded after the flood, Cockermouth families have sheltered together in makeshift reception centres

Town lights up for Xmas

Cockermouth lights photo Cockermouth had an alternative Christmas lights switch on as it began the long recovery from the floods (1 comment)

Cash pouring in

andy aerialcocker The Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund has received more than £140,000 in donations in less than 48 hours, bosses have revealed

Owners set to return

November floods photo 10 The 900 worst-hit homes and businesses flooded in Cockermouth reopened to residents and traders today

Supplies running out

Joe Bell photo Folk living at cut-off Northside in Workington are relying on food supplies from an emergency centre at the community centre (6 comments)

Chief Constable's tribute to policeman killed in Workington bridge collapse

Bill Barker photo

Cumbria's chief constable has paid tribute to a police officer killed after being washed away in floodwater when a bridge collapsed. (16 comments)

Floods appeal launched

Keswick flood4 photo A Cumbria Flood Recovery Appeal has been launched to raise funds to support devstated people and communities

Eerie Keswick

November floods photo The solitary police woman's radio crackled: "They’re closing the bridge,” she said, fears rising it would be swept away

Fears grow as waters rise

Flood photo Residents of Low Lorton are evacuating the village and moving to a reception centre set up in Cockermouth

Keswick old folk evacuated

November flood photo All of Keswick's care homes have been evacuated as a result of flooding or potential flooding - and the town is almost cut off

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