Historic Flooding
in Calderdale

Flooding has been part of Calderdale’s history for over 400 years. The first recorded flood was in 1615, when the River Calder destroyed Elland Bridge. Since then, records and photos show more than 20 major floods, each leaving its mark on the area.
These floods have damaged homes, businesses and roads, and sadly, people have lost their lives. One of the worst floods happened in November 1901 after days of heavy rain. The River Calder overflowed and flooded a 10-mile stretch of the valley, affecting places like Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Brighouse and Elland. Homes, mills and schools were badly damaged, along with well-known landmarks such as the Summit Tunnel and Ha'penny Bridge. It remains one of the most important flood events in Calderdale’s history.

On February 19, 1920, a sudden flood hit the Calder Valley. It was the worst the area had seen since 1901. The water rose very quickly. Years later, the Evening Courier described it like this: "There had been heavy rain, but few people expected such disastrous results. In fact, the most remarkable aspect of the event was the sheer speed with which the Calder flooded."

Heavy rain often turns small hillside streams into fast, powerful flows. This happens a lot in the Upper Calder and Walsden Valleys. Because the hills are steep and the soil is shallow, the rain can’t soak in. Instead, it runs quickly down into the valley.
Records show that nine more major floods have happened here, mostly in the Upper Valley. During these floods, streams overflowed, flooding homes and damaging walls and roads.

In September 1946, the Calder Valley experienced severe flooding from Todmorden to Brighouse. 905 houses were flooded. On September 27, 1946, the Brighouse and Elland Echo reported: “Between 10 o’clock a week last night and about 5 o’clock on Friday afternoon, over three inches of rain fell locally. This was more than twice as much as the total rainfall for the whole of September last year. Never before, during the years that records have been kept, has so great a weight of water fallen in so short a time.” The article also noted that the floods caused thousands of pounds in damages, with lorries carrying out rescue missions, workers stranded, Wellholme turning into a lake, and Rastrick being cut off.

Almost eight years after the Valley’s worst flood in living memory, another major flood hit in 1954. Mytholmroyd was hit especially hard. The River Calder rose very quickly, giving people little time to protect their homes and shops. In just two hours, the river rose by six feet, including a sudden two-foot rise in the last 15 minutes.

In January 1982, the River Calder flooded about 900 homes and businesses. Later that year, in August, heavy storms hit the Cornholme area and affected another 190 properties. Two more floods happened the same year, causing serious damage to homes and important services.

In May 1989, there was one of the heaviest rainstorms ever recorded in the area. It caused damage to land, sewers, homes, bridges, and walls. In December 1991, the Evening Courier reported that Calderdale Council received government funding to repair the damage from the May 1989 floods. The article recounted the event: “During the flood, paths and gardens were swept away, power and telephone lines were lost, and residents on isolated Brook Terrace watched in horror as fierce floodwater blocked a culvert, which then exploded, sweeping away tons of earth and road.”

Problems with Mytholmroyd’s drainage system meant it flooded often. Heavy rain or melting snow would overwhelm the drains. The Evening Courier reported: “Fire crews were called to Brighouse and Mytholmroyd as rain and melting snow rushed off the hills into drains that couldn’t cope.”

Just days before Christmas, heavy rain and a quick thaw caused chaos on the roads and in homes and businesses in Calderdale. On 23rd December 1991, the Evening Courier reported, “Traders and householders who were left to clear up the damage and said the surprise floods would probably have cost them thousands.” In a display of resilience, the article also highlighted Mytholmroyd residents battling floodwaters to continue their Christmas shopping.

On 22 June 2012, more than 100mm of rain—about a month’s rainfall—fell in just a few hours. This made rivers rise to their highest levels on record. The River Calder reached a record height of 3.2 metres at Hebden Bridge.

The Todmorden Flood Group was formed shortly after the 2012 flood event and continues to support the community before, during and after a flood event.

On 29 July 2013, 19mm of rain fell in just 15 minutes. By the end of the day, more than half the usual rainfall for the whole month had fallen, overwhelming the town’s drains. This caused local flooding in Walsden and Todmorden and badly damaged the road surface at Kershaw and Clough Road.

The Hebden Bridge flood group was formed in early 2013 to support the local response to flooding. The group manage containers filled with equipment to reduce flooding in public areas and highways.

On 26 December 2015, Storm Eva hit the Calder Valley and caused severe flooding. The ground was already soaked from an earlier storm, so the flooding was even worse. Heavy rain made rivers overflow, flooding homes, businesses and roads.
Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Todmorden were some of the worst affected areas, with major disruption, power cuts, and serious damage to buildings and roads.

The Eye on Calderdale website launched in early 2015 to provide complete information about flooding, including real-time details, access to flood warnings and alerts, and river level data.

After the Boxing Day floods in 2015, different types of support were set up to help people and businesses recover and rebuild more strongly. This included pausing some bills, giving council tax discounts, and offering grants to make homes and businesses more flood‑resilient. By December 2016, the council expected the total cost to be over £50 million. About £25 million of this was for repairing roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.

A network of flood wardens was set up across the Calder Valley to help communities prepare for and respond to flooding. Existing groups in Mytholmroyd, Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, and Copley grew as more volunteers got involved, showing strong local support. New groups were also started in Luddenden Foot, Sowerby Bridge, and Elland, helping to expand the network and improve flood readiness across the area.

The Flood Risk Reduction Scheme One (FRRS1) includes eight main projects to help protect the area from flooding. It aims to protect over 400 homes, about 150 businesses, and important roads and transport routes in Calderdale.
The programme is worth up to £5.5 million and was created by Calderdale Council and the Environment Agency after the serious floods between 2012 and 2015.

In 2017, the Natural Flood Management (NFM) operational group was formed, bringing together local volunteer organisations, third-sector groups, national charities, and private partners. This collaborative group works to deliver the NFM actions outlined in the Calderdale Flood Action Plan. That same year, Calderdale launched a pioneering flood reduction pilot, planting 200,000 trees and implementing natural measures such as leaky dams and bog restoration to help manage runoff and reduce flood risk.

The Mytholmroyd Flood Alleviation Scheme made the village much better prepared for future floods. It was carried out by the Environment Agency and Calderdale Council. It included building new flood walls, making the river wider, and moving important services to safer places. These changes have helped reduce flood risk for more than 400 properties, giving people and businesses more peace of mind. The project also showed how working together with the community can make a big difference, and it set a good example for managing flood risk across the Calder Valley.

Two Natural Flood Management (NFM) grant schemes were launched to support flood resilience efforts in Calderdale. The first scheme funded landowners to carry out NFM projects on their land. Between 2018 and 2025, five rounds of funding supported over 60 projects, with more than £800,000 awarded in total. The second scheme, later known as the Priority Actions Grant Scheme, funded organisations to deliver NFM actions from the Calderdale Flood Action Plan. By 2025, it had supported 26 projects, contributing significantly to the region’s natural flood defences.

In March 2019, flood sirens went off across the Upper Calder Valley, and people in Sowerby Bridge, Elland, and Brighouse were told to take action quickly. Surface water flooding caused some roads to close and affected a few homes and businesses, with some cellars flooding. The same thing happened again in July 2019, when heavy rain caused more flooding. The Environment Agency issued several flood warnings and set off the sirens again. Surface water caused problems on important roads, including routes into Todmorden, showing the area is still at risk from extreme weather.

On 9 February 2020, Storm Ciara caused major damage across Calderdale, just before the COVID‑19 pandemic began. It was the fourth big flood in the area in eight years, affecting around 1,200 homes and businesses.
In just 24 hours, some parts of the borough had a month’s worth of rain. This caused serious damage to roads, transport, buildings, and other important services. On 15 February, UK Armed Forces were sent to Calderdale to help with the recovery work and to prepare for another storm, Storm Dennis.

Construction of key flood defences in Mytholmroyd was officially opened in 2021, following three years of construction work. Over £41 million was invested in the new defences, as part of partnership work to make the village more resilient to the impacts of climate change. The scheme better protects 400 homes and businesses from flooding.

Cameras were put in along rivers and streams in the Calder Valley to help keep an eye on drainage and spot flood risks. Five new cameras were added at Nutclough (Hebden Bridge), Stoney Royd Lane and Jumps Road (Todmorden), Redwater Clough (near Cornholme), and Copley Valley. They worked alongside existing cameras at Hebble Brook and Ovenden Brook in Halifax. These places could flood if drains weren’t properly looked after. The cameras sent pictures every hour so they could be checked remotely, and water level sensors were added upstream and downstream to give better flood warnings.

The Environment Agency gave Calderdale Council another £1 million to carry on work to reduce flood risk using natural methods. Most of the money was used to continue existing grant schemes that support this work. The rest was spent on things like wildlife surveys to protect nature, and using computer models to find new places where natural flood management could be used across the area.

A wetland nature reserve was created at Brearley Fields in Mytholmroyd. What used to be playing fields was turned into a wetland to help reduce flooding in the area. This is part of a bigger project to hold more floodwater along the River Calder and create new wildlife habitats. During storms, the wetland can store water for a short time, which helps reduce flooding and damage, while also improving green spaces.

Calderdale Council’s countryside volunteers are helping to restore moorland and capture carbon by testing different ways to grow sphagnum moss. This work is part of the Growing Resilience Partnership, funded by The National Lottery.
Sphagnum moss used to cover the moors and is important for managing flood risk and storing carbon. It helps repair damaged moorland, holds water, slows down the breakdown of dead plants, and over time can form peat.

The Eye on Calderdale website was launched in early 2015 and provides clear, up-to-date information about flooding, including live flood warnings, alerts, and river levels. In 2022, the website underwent a complete update to enhance its usefulness for local residents and businesses.

The Shaw Wood Road scheme was completed in November 2023 and better protects 17 properties from the River Calder. The works comprise of a concrete legato block wall which ties into a highway wall at one end and high ground at the other.

In Copley, flood protection work includes making the flood banks around the village stronger and improving drainage at the cricket pitch so water drains away more quickly. Other work is also being done to reduce surface water flooding.
In Brighouse, the flood scheme includes creating areas in Whinney Hill Park and Wellholme Park to store extra water during heavy rain. It also includes repairing or replacing flood defences along the River Calder and making parts of the river wider to stop it and Clifton Beck from overflowing. As well as protecting homes and businesses, the project will also help nature by creating and improving wildlife habitats and using more natural ways to manage floodwater.

Severe flooding hit the Upper Calder Valley in December 2024 when Storm Bert brought heavy rain along with melting snow. This caused rivers and drainage systems to overflow. The towns of Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, and Mytholmroyd were some of the worst affected. River levels rose quickly, and there was a lot of surface water flooding. Around 50 properties were damaged, and many roads had to close, causing major disruption across the area.

Flood risk is always changing, and our response changes too. By working closely with local communities and partners, we are continuing to improve our flood defences. The Calderdale Flood Action Plan guides our work to recover from past floods, reduce future risks, and build long-term resilience. Calderdale Council declared a climate emergency in early 2019. This highlights the serious impact climate change has on the area. The Climate Action Plan sets out what we all need to do to reach the goal of Net Zero by 2038.