A similar tide is forecast for tomorrow,
Traffic was backed up all the way to the Val Des Terres as commuters on their way to the piers were redirected up Fountain Street by a member of the Civil Protection team.
Traffic Warden Russel Welbourne explained the decision was made to protect businesses.
‘They talked about closing the road at about 7.15 this morning because the tide was coming over.
‘At about 7.25 they decided to close all the front to protect the businesses because cars coming through can make a bit of a splash and cause further problems.’
This was corroborated by Neale Packham, 50, a BTS manager who was overseeing the deployment of emergency flood defences.
‘Everyone is quite confident now that the road has been closed because driving through flood water can double the problem,’
The flooding caused only minor disruptions to most businesses due to a rapid response from owners, although Gusto Espresso suffered flooding.
With a mop in hand, owner Peppe Rega said his shop would have to close temporarily today despite the flood defences he had purchased.
He said the States of Guernsey needed to do more to help businesses on the front.
‘We can’t work like this, the States should look after us.’ he said.
‘The insurance wouldn’t cover us last time it flooded.
‘I asked for sandbags and was told we would need to pay for them.
‘This morning, even with boards up we still flooded and we’ll have to close.
‘We have to shut now and I just hope the fridges are still going to work when we turn the power back on. Who’s going to cover the cost to us?’
Just a few doors down the owner of steak and seafood restaurant Balthazar had had a more serene morning and took the opportunity to record a time-lapse video of the flooding on his iPad.
Steve Le Poidevin said he’d seen so many floods over the last few years and today was just business as usual.
He called the police when he noticed the water coming over shortly after seven and commended them for their rapid arrival.
‘They were here straight away, which is great. I called them to get the road closed down because the cars cause the real problem because they create these large bow waves.’
‘It’s starting to go down now so it’s all ok and we’ve managed to stay dry.’
He explained that the water would suddenly drain as soon as the sea level dropped enough to free up the drainage system.
‘As soon as the tide comes up it back flows into the drains. Once that clears, if we wait ten minutes all the flood water will go.’
As predicted by Mr Le Poidevin, the water drained away soon after and by 8.30 the road was reopened.
Mr Le Poidevin was expecting a similar situation tomorrow. He provided a time-lapse video of the water spilling onto the road with the high tide.
‘It’ll be interesting to see what it will be like because the atmosphere, pressure and winds make quite a big difference to the tides. It could be worse.’
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