Many things caused this flood, which is why it was so disastrous. First of all, the rain; 600 mms of rain fell in just two hours which made it harder for the people to move about and put sand bags in front of their houses. The storm clouds in the sky above the Cornish coast were extremely huge, and the clouds were localised to Boscastle. The flood was also caused by the valley shape. The valleys of the rivers Valency and Jordan are extremely steep, and the valleys are so narrow, they funnel the water down to Boscastle extremely quickly, which also made the flood worse. Both rivers have their sources in the high hills of Bodmin Moor, where relief rainfall occurs. The highest point on Bodmin Moor is 420 metres, which increases the speed of the rivers flowing downhill. The rocks of Boscastle and the surrounding region are impermeable, like slate and granite, which means the rivers cannot sink far into the ground, causing much more water to overflow. Boscastle is on a flood plain near the sea, and it is located where two rivers with narrow valleys met from different directions.
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