IT has been 12 years since Dorset was swamped by a deluge of heavy rain in July 2012.
A month's worth of heavy rain wreaked havoc in south and west Dorset.
Rescuers faced more than 200 emergencies as the rain fell in just 24 hours with water swamping homes, businesses, towns and villages.
The misery came as torrential downpours battered the county on Saturday, July 7 – with emergency services warning that some people were lucky to be alive.
Families were evacuated from homes and communities were cut off as roads became impassable under many feet of water.
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In Weymouth, Radipole Lake burst its banks and flooded nearby car parks – including the park and ride car point for the Olympics – as well as roads. Radipole Park Drive was closed and the area around the Gurkha restaurant was under water.
A couple had to be rescued from the roof of their car at Litton Cheney by coastguard helicopter and two girls were rescued from being swept away by torrents of water at the River Brit near Palmers Brewery in South Street.
Firefighters in Bridport also rescued people from their car, including an elderly couple at Burton Bradstock.
A spokesman for Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said that they had dealt with more than 200 emergencies while police faced more than 100 incidents.
Homes in the Park District in Weymouth, Maiden Newton and Charmouth were among those flooded.
Coastguards were called into action more than 20 times in the space of a few hours as they warned that some people were lucky to be alive.
The coastguard helicopter winched two people from the roof of their car at Litton Cheney after it was swept along by flood water.
They were taken aboard at 10.15am on Saturday and flown to Portland before being helped home by coastguard officers.
The helicopter was also scrambled to rescue a man with chest pains at West Bexington at 4.30pm on Saturday as his home was cut off by flood water.
The aircraft landed in a field behind the house and paramedics were eventually able to reach him and he was taken to hospital by ambulance.
The helicopter was also sent to the River Brit, near the Palmers brewery in South Street in Bridport where it was feared two women were trapped in the rising waters.
Residents in Weymouth’s Park district filled pillow cases and bin liners with sand as the community joined forces to help those most affected.
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Several feet of water surged down Hardwick Street, Chelmsford Street, Brownlow Street and Walpole Street on Saturday.
Elderly residents took shelter in the community hall on Chelmsford Street as younger volunteers flocked to the beach to get sand.
Events lined up for the weekend fell victim to the downpours.
The Dorchester Armed Forces and Veterans Day march and concert on Saturday was called off along with the Big Grove Summer Festival on Portland and the first day of the Dorset Seafood Festival on Weymouth harbourside.
However, defiant organisers of the Seafood Festival braved the floods to stage the event on Sunday. Organisers of the Big Grove Summer Festival said that many performers, support crew and members of the public had pledged to carry on but that safety was of paramount importance.
VILLAGERS were left stranded when roads in and out of Nottington were closed due to floods. Residents reported up to four feet of water surging down the main route through the village, damaging cars and houses.
Nottington Lane was closed on the Harbour Hill and Dorchester Road entrances to the village on Saturday, reopening on Sunday morning after the surge had subsided.
DORSET Echo weatherman Bob Poots recorded a month’s worth of rain between 9am on Saturday and 9am on Sunday.
Measuring in Wyke Regis, Mr Poots said 36.6mm of rain had fallen in 24 hours, while the average for the whole month of July was 37.6mm.
The first seven days of July 2012 experienced 114.5mm – more than three times what could normally be expected for the whole month.
The record for the highest monthly rainfall in July was set in 1955, with 183mm. Dorchester weatherman John Oliver said double the average rainfall fell in Dorchester in 36 hours.
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