A year ago in Worcester: city under water after Storm Dennis

Worcester and its surroundings had more pressing concerns, after Storm Dennis hit the UK, leaving a swathe of destruction and flooding in its wake.

Bridge and road closures left St John’s and Powick almost completely isolated, while Hylton Road, New Road and the Powick roundabout were all closed.

I WILL GET TO WORK: A pedestrian wades across New Road

The only way to cross Worcester Bridge by vehicle was via a shuttle bus going both ways, which meant Holt Heath bridge was the remaining means of crossing the Severn in the city.

In the aftermath, people who were forced to flee their homes in Lower Wick by rising floodwater and who returned to find their properties and possessions ruined called for flood measures to protect them.

PUMPING OUT: Browns on the South Quay. Picture: Gill Cutler

Businesses also felt the effects. Browns at the Quay, The Severn View and the Old Rectifying house all experienced flooding.

The floodwater levels prompted veteran writer Mike Pryce to pen a piece looking back at previous deluges.

TAKE A SEAT: Picture by Collette Knibb

Mike wrote: "Are the current floods the worst Worcester has ever seen? The question possibly has several different answers because the topography of the Severn and its environs has changed over the years, but certainly the city saw more than enough flood water in 1924, 1947 and more recently in 2007.

"However, for most authorities, the benchmark has been Friday, March 21, 1947 when the maximum amount recorded reached 24ft 3ins, which the Worcester Evening News and Times described as “exceeding all previous levels”.

The number of floods has been increasing over the last two or three decades but the city and its citizens still prove their resilience, ready for the next one.