Kendal comes scarily close to flooding during Storm Isha

Residents were urged by the Environment Agency to act promptly after a flood warning was issued with heavy rainfall causing the levels of the River Kent and River Mint to rise rapidly.

Read more: Storm Isha: Residents urged to 'act now' after Kendal flood warning | The Westmorland Gazette

Councillor Leone Edwards, chair of North East Kendal Flood Action Group, described how the area can let out a 'huge sigh of relief' after the close call.

She said: "People were very anxious especially on Sunday night - I did put out a message to people to put their flood gates up as a precaution 

"I have found that our younger generation who weren't born when Storm Desmond happened are very worried about the weather as they hear people talking about Desmond, see it's raining and start to panic, so I had to give out lots of reassurance to children over the weekend."

The River Kent reached levels of 2.74 metres on Sunday (Image: Stuart Atkinson)

Areas most at risk included residential and commercial properties in the Westmorland Business Park, Gilthwaite Rigg, Burneside Road, and the Benson Green region.

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Residents, such as Stuart Atkinson, were able to capture the conditions in Kendal, highlighting just how volatile the local rivers were.

At around 8pm on Sunday evening, the River Kent topped at a level of 2.74 metres, way above the usual expected limit of two metres.

Water reached 3.85m - the highest level recorded at Victoria Bridge - during Storm Desmond.

Councillor Edwards added: "I would say to people with flood gates please check they fit snuggly, the seals are all in tact and you still have all the fixings as it's best to check now and not find out that there is a problem when the flooding is about to happen 

"It was definitely a huge sigh of relief that the river didn't overtop and it still shows the need for our flood defences."

Councillor Edwards, living in Sandylands at the time, was one of many locals caught up in Storm Desmond in 2015, which has fuelled the ongoing campaign to prevent a similar event from happening again.