Paddling through the city in the floods of '32

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What with global warming and so on, could the centre of Derby ever look like this again? Let’s hope not, although the group, above, seem happy enough wading through the flood waters.

The photograph, with the Derby Evening Telegraph’s former premises, Northcliffe House, in the background, was taken in May 1932, when the town centre was submerged by floodwater, causing damage estimated at £400,000.

The flooding occurred after Markeaton Brook burst its banks. Many people living in the area lost everything and a relief fund was launched by Derby’s mayor.

The culvert, built to take Markeaton Brook under the Strand and prevent future flooding, is excavated by workmen in the 1960s

A consultant engineer was brought in to find a way of preventing the brook flooding again and, in 1938, the Markeaton Brook relief culvert, which passes under the city centre before running into the River Derwent, was finished.

In 2004, a multi-million-pound scheme to renovate the 70-year-old culvert and improve the city’s flood defences was launched.. So, hopefully, the scene above has been consigned to history forever.

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