When Storm Chandra swept through Dorset on the night of Monday 26th January, the impact was immediate – and dramatic. By Tuesday morning, flooding had brought damage and disruption to towns and villages across the county. Forty roads were closed, fire crews responded to back-to-back calls from stranded motorists, and countless homes and business owners were left clearing up sodden premises. With groundwater still rising, many routes were still under water on Wednesday, and commuters were left to navigate a patchwork of road closures.
Patrick Brown, a resident of Thornicombe Park, near Blandford, kindly shared images of his daughter Rosie in her wheelchair being evacuated out of the flood. ‘Rosie was taken into respite care in Dorchester. The water was almost three feet deep and rising, and we are extremely thankful and grateful for the quick response from the evacuation team and other residents.’
George Hosford’s drone image captured the water heading to the site: ‘The spring had broken, and the fields are already waterlogged so the water ran straight across the top, down to the mobile home site which sits in a hollow.’
In the midst of the chaos, our readers did what they do best – capturing the extraordinary scenes all around them. From submerged lanes and swollen rivers to eerily still fields turned to lakes, these images tell the story of the storm in Dorset.
Thank you to everyone who shared their photos. We couldn’t include them all, but here’s a powerful selection – just hover your mouse over the images to see where they are and who took them.
