The memories of Boxing Day 2015 are still vivid for many in Sowerby Bridge, a day when floodwaters ravaged the town. So, when days of relentless rain in mid-March 2019 caused the Rochdale Canal and the Rivers Calder & Ryburn to swell, a collective sense of unease, and then alarm, rippled through the community.
On March 16th, 2019, as the water levels steadily climbed, residents watched with bated breath. The fear of a repeat of 2015 was palpable. I was there, documenting the unfolding situation, and captured video clips of that anxious night and the morning after.
The first video, which I've uploaded to YouTube, truly shows the town as the levels were rising. You can see the sheer volume of water and the immediate concern it generated.
And the next 2 show Mearclough Bridge and Sowerby Bridge Cricket Ground on the nights when the levels were rising and the morning after when the rivers were much lower.
Thankfully, by the morning after, the town breathed a collective sigh of relief. The worst had been averted, but the experience served as a stark reminder of Sowerby Bridge's vulnerability to the power of nature.
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