‘Indefensible’: Ten years on from the Boxing Day flood that tested Leeds' soul and changed our city forever
It was a scene of destruction and devastation that left a scar on Leeds a decade ago.
While shop windows and homes were still dressed in tinsel and families picked at Christmas leftovers, water surged through streets, homes, and livelihoods.
The River Aire became a force to be reckoned with on Boxing Day 2015. An unprecedented 360 tonnes of water per second surged its way through the city - a world away from the normal flow rate of 15 tonnes per second.
Streets became rivers, cars bobbed on Kirkstall Road like toys and the city’s familiar landscape became unrecognisable under the water, mud and silt.
Homes were destroyed and livelihoods left in ruin as the water receded leaving warped floorboards, shuttered shopfronts and a heavy sense of loss.
The image of Kirkstall Road being transformed into a riverbed will be forever etched in my mind.
The Yorkshire Evening Post’s damning front page branding the impact as ‘Indefensible’ made waves across the country.
In a scathing editorial this newspaper stressed to Government its failure to protect us and said: “The Northern Powerhouse is nothing when it is under several feet of mucky water. This city must have critical inward investment to make sure it has the protection from floods on this scale ever happening again. What’s good enough for London is good enough for Leeds.”
Over 2,600 homes were damaged, 650 businesses impacted and key infrastructure such as power substations, communication systems and parts of the road and rail network were submerged under water.
As people desperately tried to pick up the pieces and comprehend the impact as their lives were washed away, Leeds was determined to show it would not be beaten.
While the clean up costs tallied over £36m the impact on the city was incalculable.
As the sirens faded it was the community who rallied and moved first.
Over 1,000 volunteers came armed with brushes and cleaning gloves to help haul sodden furniture, fixtures and fittings from homes and businesses left in tatters.
They shovelled thick slit from the roads and the city dug deep to support the YEP-backed Leeds Community Foundation flood appeal to raise thousands of pounds to support those whose lives had been left in ruin.
While the floodwater couldn’t be held back the resilience of Leeds really came from its own.
And as the world and his mother descended on our city - be it the national media or the Prime Minister - the biggest question on everyone’s lips was how was this allowed to happen?
As a city we went out with our begging bowl to those in Whitehall to make sure that our city got what it deserved. Funding to make sure this never happened again.
In the decade that ensued flood protection schemes were built to shore up the city’s defences.
But even a decade on the city holds its collective breath hoping it will never see another repeat of the day the waters just couldn’t be held back.
And while the watermarks may have faded - the memories and impact of what happened that fateful Boxing Day will never recede.