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Easter Floods of 1998
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Severe flooding affected large areas of central and eastern England over the Easter weekend of 1998. Rainfall varied from place to place but many thousands of people were severely affected and estimates of losses were over 350 million nationwide. Five people died directly or indirectly as a result of the floods.
In Bedford during a thirteen hour period starting on the morning of the 9th April 37.4 mm of rainfall fell (Easter 1998 floods Vol. 1). This rain fell on already saturated ground as the whole of the month had been exceptionally wet and caused the rivers to rise at record rates.
The River Ouse in Bedford burst its banks on the afternoon of Saturday 11th April and swelled to proportions not seen since 1947. A state of red alert was declared by the Environment Agency early on the Saturday morning after meetings were held with the Police, Fire Service and county and Borough Officers.
Seventy five Army troops from Aldershot were drafted in to place over 20,000 sandbags on the Saturday night. More than 500 homes in Bedford were plunged into darkness as electricity supplies went down.
As well as Bedford many North Bedfordshire villages were also affected; 200 residents were evacuated from Clapham High Street.
Sources:
- Bedfordshire Times Newspaper cuttings (copies available in Bedford Central Library)
- Easter floods Vol. 1. Report by the Independent Review Team to the Board of the Environment Agency
Easter Floods of 1998 by Bedfordshire Libraries, 2005
Page last updated: 22nd January 2014