Two years on from the devastation of Storm Desmond

Cockermouth High Street in Cumbria after torrential rain caused rivers to burst their banks Credit: PA

Today marks exactly two years since Storm Desmond hit the region, flooding thousands of homes and businesses.

This includes 125 households yet to return home - 77 of them in Carlisle, one of the worst hit parts of the county.

To date, Cumbria County Council says it has spent £70 million fixing damaged infrastructure, with almost £55 million of contracts going to Cumbrian suppliers.

The December 2015 storm resulted in:

  • 7,465 properties being flooded.

  • 3,034 children unable to attend school.

  • almost 18,000 homes without electricity.

  • around 1,200 bridges, roads and other locations damaged.

  • 700,000 hours of repair work.

Emergency workers stand in floodwater on Warwick Road in Carlisle Credit: PA

The devastation extended to the collapse of the historic Pooley Bridge and the damage to the A591 through the centre of the Lake District.

Since then, 278 bridges have been repaired or rebuilt and 264 are currently in progress, with 242 scheduled to begin work in the coming months.

In addition to the work on bridges, 108 miles of road across 162 different schemes have been resurfaced, representing around 3% of the county’s total road network.

Flooding in Grasmere, Cumbria after 18 hours of heavy rain Credit: PA

The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Fleet said:

Flooded roads in Appleby in Cumbria, as Storm Desmond hits the UK Credit: PA

Councillor Keith Little added: