Emergency services tell people to avoid Coverack area and not to drive through flood waters after violent storms on Tuesday afternoon

Dozens of homes have been evacuated on the south coast of Cornwall as flash floods sweep through the county after violent thunderstorms on Tuesday afternoon.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue told people to avoid the Coverack area because of “major flooding”.

Cornwall Fire&Rescue (@CornwallFRS) Major flooding in #Coverack area please avoid this area & do not attempt to drive through any flood water.

It is urging people not to drive through the flood waters triggered by huge waves breaching coastal defences.

The Met Office said flooding came after heavy thunderstorms and rain in Cornwall and Devon on Tuesday afternoon. “There has been some heavy rainfall around,” said forecaster Craig Snell, who said the worst has moved north from the region.

An eyewitness said the wet weather hit Coverack at about lunchtime, but got worse from around 3pm. “It literally just came over like a massive mist,” Karla Wainwright told BBC News. Wainwright, who works in the village’s Paris Hotel, said hailstones the size of 50p pieces smashed small panes of glass on the building.



“It wasn’t until it cleared up at 4.30pm, and we could see over the other side of Coverack, and we could see the stream coming down the main road and going just straight off over the wall into the sea, that we realised how bad it had been and how much water and rain had come down.”



Some residents had to be airlifted to safety as the flood waters washed into homes in the small fishing village.

Residents have been cut off by the fast-moving flood with both access roads into the village swamped by the waters. The main road, the B3294, has been broken apart by the force of the storm and chunks of tarmac have been swept to the seafront.

Firefighters launched an evacuation plan with six fire trucks reported to be at the scene and a coastguard helicopter circling overhead. Witnesses say the storms on Tuesday afternoon were the worst they had ever seen.

Bed and breakfast owner Anne Rogers said: “We got the helicopter overhead, which has just airlifted two people two people to safety from a bungalow near the river. The tarmac from the road is now along the seafront – it is just horrendous. It is utter devastation all along the seafront and the cliffside properties are all flooded.”

The rain started at about 3.30pm on Tuesday and lashed the exposed hamlet on the south eastern side of the Lizard peninsula for about two hours.

Rogers said: “It has flooded here before but this is by far the worst I have ever seen it. Everyone is safe as far as I know. But there will be a very big clean-up job. No one can get in or out of Coverack at the moment. You can not get through. We are all stuck.”

She told reporters at the scene that locals were trying to look out for each other and the tourists holidaying in the area.

Coverack resident Adam Powers added that it had been a “scary afternoon”.

“Homes are flooded and there is no access by road. More rescue crews are arriving the helicopter is hovering. It is pretty full on,” he said.

Others have described watching “apocalyptic” scenes play out in the usually sleepy picturesque village.

Wendy Davies said: “When I eventually got out of the house the hailstones were so bad it looked apocalyptic. It was like something out of a disaster movie.”



Another witness told how her neighbours lost a shed in the flood. “It was quite horrendous,” said the local business owner, who did not want to be named. “It was torrential, the water that was coming down our road, but it’s all subsided, it’s much better now, except for the river itself is still quite a torrent.

“Our neighbours across the road from us, their shed disappeared down the river. Our neighbours, just up the road from us, their oil tank disappeared down the river.

“But luckily nobody was hurt, anyway. I think the biggest sufferer is the main road into Coverack. I don’t think that is passable at the moment.

“I have never seen such big hail. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing and it was hailing, all at the same time. It was quite amazing really.”

An emergency centre was opened in Truro’s County Hall on Tuesday night.

Chief Inspector Mark Bolt, from Devon and Cornwall police, who is leading the response, said: “This will have been a very distressing incident for all those involved and our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected.

“We would like to thank the crews from Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, the Search and Rescue helicopter and HM Coastguard Service for their efforts.”

A council spokesman confirmed some properties in the village and one of the roads suffered structural damage and are due to be inspected by structural engineers.

A local hotel offered accommodation to anyone unable to return to their home, while one elderly resident was moved to a local nursing home. A meeting is due to be held for residents at the village’s Parish Hotel on Wednesday morning, which will be attended by council officers.