The fire service failed to check the home of an 83-year-old woman later found drowned in floodwater, an inquest heard.
Maureen Gilbert, who was housebound, was discovered floating in the water by her son Paul Gilbert at her home in Chesterfield, Derbyshire after the River Rother burst its banks and flooded her house during Storm Babet.
She was one of at least seven people who died during the storm which caused disruption across the UK in October 2023.
An inquest into her death on Tuesday heard firefighters did not go back to the property after a request to recheck Mrs Gilbert's home was 'mislogged' while Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service's control room systems were down.
Chesterfield Coroner's Court was told the fire service had tried to reach Mrs Gilbert at her terraced property on the evening of October 20 but could not get to her.
Neil Porteous, who was an incident commander for the fire service, said he requested Tapton Terrace be reinspected the day after but this 'was not communicated the next morning'.
Maureen Gilbert, 83, who drowned when her home flooded during Storm Babet in 2023
Maureen Gilbert with husband Jack Gilbert on their wedding day, 1975
Dozens of homes in Chesterfield were flooded during the storm in October 2023
Clive Stanbrook, who was an area manager for the fire service, told the inquest: 'This had clearly not been handed over to the next shift the next day. We should have gone back in the morning. We fell short.'
Parts of the control room system had 'completely failed' on October 20 when the request to check on Mrs Gilbert was made, the inquest heard.
He said wheelie bins and fence panels were floating in the water when firefighters attempted to make contact with Mrs Gilbert the evening before.
Mr Porteous said: 'It was massive amounts of water. The front gardens were completely underwater. It was a difficult scene to look at.
'Numerous wheelie bins just floating on top of the water. Loads of debris floating. Manhole covers had lifted as well.'
Mr Porteous said the crew knew Mrs Gilbert was inside the property because her son had spoken to her on the phone but then lost contact.
He said: 'It was just a very, very difficult scene. We had done everything we could possibly do.
'We don't like to leave people behind. It was just too dangerous - it was getting too dark.
'The crew said 'Can we go in?' and at that point I had to stop them and explain why, and they understood.'
The rescue crew left the scene at Tapton Terrace at 7.22pm and Mr Porteous made the request for a reinspection the next day.
Mrs Gilbert was found by her son 'floating in the water' in her home on the morning of October 21.
She lived downstairs and was unable to escape as the water came gushing through her doors.
Sandbags at the door of the home of Maureen Gilbert in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, October 22 2023
Flood high tide marks are seen over 5 foot high in the front room of Maureen Gilbert
A picture showing the aftermath of the floods in Tapton Terrace where Mrs Gilbert lived alone
On Monday, Neil Longden, who was the Environment Agency's operations manager for Yorkshire, was asked why there were no flood defences near Tapton Terrace, which is next to the River Rother.
Mr Longden said: 'The answer really is you can build something, but someone has to pay for it.
'There is a feasible solution to the problem but funding, and potentially the planning process, may put that at risk.
'There are thousands of people at flood risk around the country. You would have that challenge in many locations around the country.'
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He said that Tapton Terrace is susceptible to flooding because the land is low, several water sources come together, and the fact there are no flood defences.
Neighbours previously described how five feet of water engulfed the inside of their properties in Tapton Terrace 'within minutes' of the river bursting its banks.
Mr Longden said Storm Babet was 'one of the most significant storms' he has been involved in because of the intensity of the rainfall, adding: 'It was a different type of storm than I have experienced before.'
The inquest heard that in 2018, a storage reservoir began to be used to reduce the peak flow further down the River Rother during heavy rainfall.
Mr Longden agreed the reservoir was the 'only significant step' taken between 2007, when Chesterfield residents previously experienced severe flooding, and Storm Babet in 2023.
Assistant coroner Matthew Kewley told the inquest that her cause of death was drowning.
The inquest, which is expected to last five days, continues.