However, due to rising sea levels, that number is expected to skyrocket to 60 by 2050. A map by Climate Central, a non-profit news organisation which analyses climate science shows that most of the seafront will be lost to the sea by then.

Large parts of the high street – Fore Street in East Looe – and its businesses, as well as key car parks used by locals and visitors, including Millpool Car Park, Kilminorth Woods Parking, Looe Station Car Park and Looe Harbour Car Park are expected be swallowed by the waves.

Key infrastructure such as the railway line and the main road into the town, the A387, are also set to be hit.

The Looe Valley railway line, which links Looe to the nearby town of Liskeard, is no stranger to flood damage. On January 6 of this year, it was completely closed after part of the track was flooded.

One of the worst events in recent years was in October 2023, when residents were photographed desperately battling the rising water as Cornwall was being hit by three consecutive days of floods.

The high seas were caused by spring tides and rough weather conditions. On October 30, water levels rose to waist-high in Looe town centre, where a child was even pictured using a surfboard. Two days prior, a man had to be rescued from the flooded street in a giant blue bin.

While the torrent of water has long been a battle for the Cornish residents, a defence system is not yet in place, leaving locals to pile up sandbags to keep the flood at bay.

“Restaurants have to protect themselves,” says Maddie, a waitress at Yamas, a local Greek restaurant by the water. “We use flood boards and sandbags, but timing is everything.”

Maddie explains how, in her previous job, located just next door, they refused to let the flooding stop the cogs of business turning. “The water came right up to the bar. We had to lay out chairs across the floor and carry the food over like a bridge.”

Yamas owner Niko Oikonomopoulos has put decking outside the front of the building, which acts like a defence barrier. However, this doesn’t stop it from spilling over. “After it hits, we use giant squeegees, like in the shower, to push the water back out the doors,” Niko explains.

Between 2013 and 2017 alone, floods caused an estimated £39 million worth of damage to homes and businesses, according to a 2017 Cornwall Development Company report.

Plans for long-term flood prevention have been in the works since 2015. The Looe Flood Defence and Regeneration Scheme was granted £2.3 million in 2021 by Defra to complete its outline business case. This includes breakwaters, tidal gates, and a cut-off wall designed to prevent seawater from surging up through the streets.

However, due to a lack of funding, the project has not yet begun, with construction delayed until 2026 at the earliest.

Despite the council’s bid to keep the sea at bay, some Looe residents believe its priorities when it comes to flood prevention are muddled.

“You need to fix the drains first because it bubbles up through the drains before it even comes over the wall,” says a lifelong local and shop manager, who asks to remain anonymous. “When it floods, it can reach a foot high inside. Flood boards help, but they’re not enough.”

Her shop, like many others in Looe, is no longer eligible for flood insurance due to the frequency of the incidents. “So if we lose stock, we lose stock,” she adds.

At the Guildhall Market, employee Natalie shares the same experience. “It floods so badly we can’t even put sandbags by the door as it comes up through the floor,” she said.

She points to the businesses storage space where all stock is now stored on plastic palettes to avoid water damage.

Like most of Looe, traders rely on tide charts to prepare for incoming floods. “If we know it’s going to be bad, we get the expensive items out ahead of time,” she explains. It seems that’s a job that locals will only have to get used to doing more and more often.