Complex sentence: The River Chew suffered a major flood in 1968 with serious damage to towns and villages along its route, including sweeping away the bridge over the A37 and damaged the railway viaduct so badly that it never reopened.
Split into simpler sentences: The River Chew suffered a major flood in 1968 with serious damage to towns and villages along its route. The flood swept away the bridge over the A37 and damaged the railway viaduct so badly that it never reopened.