As a matter of interest I looked up the details of the Lynmouth flood disaster of 1952. This was caused by a flash flood of 9" of rain in 24 hours and resulted in 34 deaths according to wikipedia. My father was travelling on the train from Taunton to Watchet in the late evening before the rain started and said that the sky was a very peculiar copper colour that he had never seen before.

What is not mentioned is that a even greater number of deaths were caused by accidents with machinery during the subsequent clear up operation and rebuilding. Perhaps there is a place for Health and Safety regulations.