How It Happened!

A powerful flood swamps London’s power stations, Parliament and historic palaces - on a model built to recreate the Thames tidal surge of 1928.

A tidal surge stormed up the Thames in 1928, filling the moat at the Tower Of London and flooding Westminster, where 11 died. To show what happened, the Topical Budget built a relief model of central London, with bridges and major landmarks clearly signposted, and filmed it from above. Water washes in east-to-west, while captions explain what damage occurred at each location. The film ends with footage of the record high-water mark on a wall in Kew.