MELTING snow could cause one of the worst flooding headaches York has seen in a generation as the city continues to battle the big freeze.

Coun Andrew Waller, leader of City of York Council, said the city was bracing itself for sudden and severe floods, like those of 1982.

Thousands of sandbags have been ordered and placed in storage, while other measures have also been put in place to allow York to cope if a rapid thawing of the blanket of snow covering the region leaves the city besieged by floods once again.

If the snow melts quickly, it could cause the River Ouse to swell to a dangerous level, leaving houses and businesses vulnerable.

The situation has sparked fears that York could be on the brink of scenes reminiscent of 28 years ago, when weeks of snow and ice were followed by a quick thaw and rain.

“There are already comparisons being drawn up with the floods on 1982,” Coun Waller said. “We already have in store thousands of sandbags in stock to be prepared for the possibility of this.” He said a slow melt would not have a major impact on the river flow, but added: “If the vast amount of snow suddenly melts, then flooding risks are going to be a very real possibility. There is going to be a lot of water coming into the river and a lot of housing is in vulnerable areas.

“But what I would say is that we will be prepared. Our flood defence systems are better than they were then and will hold like in the floods of 2000.”

Coun Waller urged residents in at-risk areas to start taking precautions now, by using the Environment Agency flooding defence system to get regular updates.

An agency spokeswoman said around the Rivers Swale, Wiske and Ure – which feed into the Ouse – there had been about 560 millimetres (about 22 inches) of snow, which would equate to about 70 millimetres of water (nearly three inches) when it thawed.

In Ryedale, 600mm (24in) of snow has fallen, while East Yorkshire has had 475mm (19in).

She said the region’s rivers could cope if the snow melted gradually, but a quick thaw and any rain would increase the risk.

Kim Andrew, the agency’s area flood risk manager, said: “We continue to closely monitor weather conditions and river levels, which currently have capacity to cope with water from a gradual thaw."


Shades of 1982?

THE floods in 1982 were among the worst York has seen and were preceded by conditions similar to the current big freeze.

On December 30, 1981, the Yorkshire Evening Press reported that city chiefs were keeping their fingers crossed for a slow thaw as sheets of ice and snow covered the city.

But days later – on January 4, 1982 – York was besieged as the River Ouse, swollen by melting snow and heavy rain, rose to 13ft 10in above normal.

Hundreds of homes were flooded within hours and conditions affected schools, transport, electricity and businesses across the area.

By the following day York was at crisis point, with officials saying the flooding was the worst since 1947, as the Ouse peaked at 16ft 9in above normal levels.

By January 6, the director of the river division at the Yorkshire Water Authority, Guy Rukin, said: “This is the blackest day of my career,” as the flooding brought York to a standstill.

The aftermath of the floods saw costs spiral to more than £1 million and led to better flood defence systems, which remain in place today.