ABSTRACTIn January 1988 the city of Truro experienced a severe flood from the River Kenwyn. The return period of this event was initially estimated at 350 years using the methodology recommended in the Flood Studies Report1. In October of the same year a second flood, of even greater magnitude, occurred. The subsequent investigations employed a variety of flood frequency estimation techniques including one which uses descriptive information on the history of flooding, obtained from local newspapers and journals, in addition to recent flow records. The return periods of the two events were reassessed to be 50 and 100 years respectively. This flood frequency behaviour was found to be markedly different from the regional average for the South West of England.