THE tail-end of an American hurricane brought a day of flooding drama to Huddersfield.

Torrential rain meant a hectic day for fire crews across the town - and at one point they were faced with the possibility of an explosion from a large liquid petroleum gas cylinder that had broken free in a company's flooded yard.

It was one of many dramas that happened all over the town as the tail-end of Hurricane Alex - which swept past America's east coast last week and sped across the Atlantic - dumped more than 100mm (about 4in) of rain on the Pennines in just 24 hours.

The average for August in West Yorkshire is about 58mm (just over 2in).

The LPG vessel, measuring 9ft-long by 5ft wide, broke free from its cradle in the yard at Decorative Panels on Grove Street in Longwood at 8.15am yesterday.

Firefighters were alerted and Assistant Divisional Officer David Myers, of Huddersfield fire station, went to assess the situation.

He said: "The LPG is used to power forklift trucks and was floating in the water.

"It had come to rest on the concrete ledge of a ramp and we checked it for leaks.

"If it had fractured it would have sent a low-level gas cloud over Longwood. LPG is highly flammable and there was a risk of an explosion which would have catastrophic."

The LPG was floated back on to its cradle as the water subsided during the morning and was due to be thoroughly checked by experts for any damage.

* The lending part of Huddersfield Library remains closed due to water damage. People can return books to the children's library or the reference library which have reopened. The art gallery and cafe have also reopened.

* Floodwater threatened to engulf homes on Springbank Road, off Leeds Road, Huddersfield - but firefighters managed to confine it to gardens and an area close to garages and pump it into the nearby River Colne.

Dawn Low, of nearby Springbank Crescent, said: "They did a great job to stem the water and saved people from the misery of having their homes flooded.

"One woman has lived there for 43 years and has only seen the water that high twice - one of those was two years ago when her house was flooded."

* A Fenay Bridge woman had only just replaced her freezer and washing machine from a previous flood when they were ruined again by yesterday's deluge.

Kimberley Rollins, 23, of Penistone Road, has already had three floods this year.

"The sewage flood water was about 1ft deep," she said. "I had just got my new washing machine and freezer four weeks ago to replace the ones I lost. It's never-ending. I feel gutted.

"I have been staying at my parents since the last flood and was just getting ready to move back into my own house. I came in to check on it on my way to work yesterday morning and could have burst into tears."

* Fenay Beck was partly blocked with rubbish which caused it to burst its banks, turning surrounding fields into a lake.

Skelmanthorpe firefighters spent most of yesterday morning using sandbags to stop water flowing into houses close to Dean Mill off Riley Lane.

Sub-officer Richard Meakin said: "Drains nearby simply couldn't cope and flooded Dean Mill, but we managed to stop the water from getting into four homes nearby."

The firefighters lifted rubbish out of the drains and cleared the beck as best they could.

* Firefighters spent two hours pumping water away from turbines at the refuse incinerator at Emerald Street, Hillhouse.

* Cellars at several homes in Broomer Street, Victoria Street and North Road in Ravensthorpe were flooded and had to be pumped out by firefighters.

* Water pouring off a hillside flooded the downstairs of a new house on Fern Rise in Elland and had to be pumped out.

* Floodwater almost 2ft deep had to be pumped out of a storeroom cellar at the Grove Inn on Long Lane at Dalton.