The deadly 1953 floods which devastated Essex coast

And many still recall the Great Flood of 1953 and the desperate attempts to salvage lives and buildings on the night of January 31 and into the morning of February 1.

Overnight on January 31 1953, a huge storm pushed a great tide into the east coast, which breached Essex sea walls in 300 places and spelt disaster for residents along the north and south Essex coast.

A total of 104 people died in Essex, including 35 in Jaywick, eight in Harwich and 61 across south Essex.

Fifty-nine people from Canvey died in the flood and 13,000 were evacuated from their homes.

The Met Office explained the exceptional weather conditions, coupled with an inability to warn people, meant whole communities were unaware of the imminent threat from the storm surge that saw many low lying areas of East Anglia and the Thames Estuary suffer severe flooding.

According to the Met Office:

• 32,000 people were evacuated
• 160,000 acres of land was inundated with sea water and not usable for several years
• Estimated damage ran to £50 million at 1953 prices, approximately £1.2 billion at today's prices
• Infrastructure including power stations, gasworks, roads, railways, sewage services and water services was put out of action

The Essex County Standard reported horrific stories from the floods, including one about Marie Miles, 42, who perished in the floodwater in Jaywick.

Paralysed from the waist down and watching the floods approach her bungalow, she managed to phone her two friends, Mr and Mrs Reeves, of Rosemary Way, who saved themselves and their young children by climbing into a loft before the water struck.

Miss Miles was unable to escape the torrent as it flooded her bungalow.

Along the coast, 3,500 people were left homeless in Harwich.

A total of 50,000 acres of farm land were left underwater and thousands of cattle, pigs and chickens were lost to the floods.

Images from our archives show troops and volunteers sprung into action to clear up and alleviate the damage which destroyed caravans and homes across the region.