Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council has thanked responders to the flash floods over the weekend which seriously affected East Cleveland residents.
Intense rain on Saturday in such a short period of time caused drainage systems to quickly become overwhelmed resulting in a deluge cutting off communities.
Council crews responded immediately when called out and were clearing gullies and drains throughout the day and into the evening. Hundreds of sandbags were also provided, though many residents were still left with devastating effects to their homes.
Several families were relocated to alternative accommodation, while some families moved to the first floor of their homes to avoid the flood.
The road networks were greatly affected, with extensive damage to Arlington Street in Loftus, meaning temporary traffic lights were erected. The Council’s emergency structural engineer was called upon to several locations across the borough to assess the damage to the roads.
The Council worked tirelessly alongside partner agencies including the Environment Agency and the emergency services throughout the day.
Cllr Alec Brown, Leader of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, said:
“Our hearts go out to the communities who have been left with significant damage to their homes and a huge disruption to their lives. The extreme rainfall in such a short period of time on Saturday meant the drains became completely overwhelmed and could not cope with that amount of water.
“Please be assured, our teams are always ready to respond and assist in case of a flooding emergency, and our crews were out on Saturday all day clearing as many gullies and drains as possible, as well as providing hundreds of sandbags.
“We would like to thank all those who gave their time and expertise to ensure people were safe in the aftermath of the flooding, including emergency services, the Environment Agency, and our own staff who worked in horrible conditions to do their best to try and protect people’s homes.
“Work is ongoing; the Council will now look to repair the roads damaged by the flooding and the gulley sucker crews will continue to jet and vacuum affected areas.”