NRC:quote:Zware regenval teistert delen EuropaNoodweer heeft dit weekeinde in verscheidene delen van Europa grote overlast veroorzaakt. In Wales en delen van Engeland zijn rivieren door zware regenval buiten hun oevers getreden. Honderden mensen zijn uit voorzorg geëvacueerd. Het zwaarst getroffen gebied is het Noord-Engelse graafschap Northumberland, waar duizend huizen onder water staan. In bijna honderd gebieden zijn waarschuwingen uitgegeven voor overstromingen. Sinds vrijdag zijn zeker vijf mensen omgekomen door het noodweer. Amateurbeelden van de overstroming in Morpeth, Northumberland:Ook op sommige plaatsen in Frankrijk kwam de regen met bakken uit de hemel. In een voorstad van Grenoble stortte gisteravond het dak van een supermarkt in onder de druk van het water. Daardoor raakten twaalf mensen gewond, van wie er drie slecht aan toe zijn, meldden de autoriteiten. De hevige regens veroorzaakten op verscheidene plaatsen in Frankrijk aardverschuivingen waardoor wegen geblokkeerd raakten. De route nationale 7 was enige tijd onbegaanbaar bij Tain l'Hermitage in het Rhônedal. Het verkeer op de snelweg is er weer normaal, meldden de plaatselijke autoriteiten vandaag. Op enkele plaatsen zijn mensen enige tijd ondergebracht op een veiliger plaats uit vrees voor aardverschuivingen of overstromingen. Overstromingen in St. PerayIn Zwitserland zijn meerdere Alpenpassen gesloten na zware stortregens. De watermassa veroorzaakte aardverschuivingen waarbij stenen en rotsblokken op de wegen terecht kwamen, meldden de Zwitserse autoriteiten vandaag. Onder meer de Nufenen-, Lukmanier- en Simplonpas zijn in beide richtingen afgesloten. In het zuiden van Zwitserland heeft het de afgelopen dagen enorm hard geregend. In het kanton Tessin viel gisteren net zo veel regen als normaal gesproken in de hele maand september valt.
BBC News:quote:Winds and rain battering Britain
Heavy rainfall and strong winds are sweeping across Britain causing floods in many areas. The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for Wales and many parts of England. Some areas could experience the equivalent of more than two weeks of rainfall in 24 hours.
The Environment Agency says there are 34 flood warnings currently in force in south and west Wales and the south-west of England, two of them severe. The severe warnings are in Wales, for the River Rhymney at New Tredegar, Caerphilly, Bedwas and Machen, and for the River Taff at Troedyrhiw, Aberfan and Quakers Yard. And flood warnings have been issued for the west of England on the River Wye, and including Hereford, Hay on Wye, and Ross on Wye. There are 94 flood watches in England and Wales and one in Scotland.
Chris Mills, of the Environment Agency, said people based in areas where there are flood warnings "need to make sure that they are looking after their property, that they are alert [and] that they are ready to leave their property if necessary". "Don't go anywhere near the water, don't try to cross the water in a vehicle, even by a 4x4, and remain alert,'' he said. BBC forecasters said 40mm of rain had fallen in Caerphilly in south Wales and on Exmoor. And forecasters are warning of a very heavy period of rain continuing for up to 24 hours, affecting northern England, south-eastern Scotland and Northern Ireland. The heavy rain will continue through the night and well into Saturday in these areas.
The weather has caused disruption across much of Wales and England: • A major incident has been declared in Bridgend due to rising water levels in the River Ogmore. The council is evacuating staff from its civic offices and businesses are being advised about the risk of flooding • The Jazz in the Park event in Pontypool has been cancelled, as was Cardiff Pride 2008 • A number of roads are under water in Gloucestershire and a road in Crumlin in Monmouthshire was closed following a landslide • Gusts of more than 60mph have been recorded at headlands near Torbay in Devon • Arriva Trains is advising people in south east Wales not to travel by train as all rail services are severely disrupted by flooding South Wales Fire Service said it had received 350 flood-related calls in six hours on Friday, compared with a normal daily total of about 130.
Fire crews and council workers were called to homes in the Lydney area of Gloucestershire on Thursday after flash floods. Flooding caused substantial problems throughout that county in July last year. The ground is saturated after an unusually wet August, increasing the risk of flooding across the UK, experts said. "We are expecting 20mm to 40mm of rainfall in the next 24 hours on already saturated ground, which is the biggest problem. We've had a lot of rain already," said BBC weather forecaster Darren Bett
Flooding is likely to disrupt businesses in the worst affected areas. Tina Beeston, the publican of the Market Tavern in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, told the BBC her business was flooded last year and there was a serious risk that it would be again. "There's probably eight premises that are already flooded, so these are businesses that have only just picked themselves back up again. It's looking pretty grim for the businesses in Tenbury Wells," she said. The AA has reported a higher than normal number of breakdowns with cars getting in trouble after driving through floodwater. Commuters have been advised to be careful on the roads and to leave extra time for journeys. The public can keep updated through news outlets and by calling the Floodline on 0845 988 1188. BBC Newsquote:North England hit by flash floods
Heavy rain is causing flash floods across much of the Midlands and northern England. West Mercia police have reported flooding in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. The Environment Agency says Morpeth in Northumberland is under water but flood waters are receding in Wales where one person was killed on Friday. The Agency has issued more than eighty flood warnings in England and Wales, five of which are severe. In the Pickering area of North Yorkshire several properties and roads have been flooded after the local beck burst its banks. Fire crews have been on hand to pump out houses and residents have been told to move possessions upstairs. West Mercia Constabulary has urged motorists to be cautious.
Chief Superintendent Viv Howells of West Mercia Constabulary said: "We are continuing to monitor the situation, and are liaising closely with our partner organisations. Some localised flooding is being experienced and there is a large amount of surface water on the roads. However, there is no cause for major concern." The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has two flood warnings in place, one for Jed Water and one for Blackadder Water and Langton Burn. According to the BBC weather centre the rain could exceed 50mm in some places.
The teenager who was killed in Wales was in Powys when the 4X4 car she was travelling in left a flooded forestry track north of the Llyn Brianne reservoir and overturned into a river. She was airlifted to Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth - along with a male and another female both suffering from hypothermia - but died after arrival. Police said the three people were tourists from south-east England and that one of the pair suffering from hypothermia had to walk several miles to a farmhouse to get help. The BBC Wales correspondent Colette Hume says river levels in Wales are going down and that the biggest problem for people now is clearing up after the rain on Friday. She added that many people in the affected areas have no insurance and they will be keeping their fingers crossed that there is no more rain.
Dee Ann Palmer, whose house in Ynsboeth in mid Glamorgan has been devastated, says she has lost everything and since she has no insurance it will cost her "an arm and a leg" to replace her furniture and kitchen appliances. She told BBC News: "No insurance at all because we've been flooded before and its going to cost an arm and a leg for me to have any insurance. The council promised me when I first moved into the property seven and a half years ago that it would never ever happen again, they had solved it.... and they obviously haven't'."
The BBC Weather Centre said some places suffered more than a month's worth of rainfall in 24 hours on Friday. Some 40mm (1.6ins) of rain fell in Caerphilly and on Exmoor. Phil Rothwell, from the Environment Agency, says the wet summer hasn't helped the situation. "I think our catchments and the soils are very wet and saturated, and river levels are therefore responding very quickly. "The soil isn't absorbing the water it might, and so we're seeing these very rapid rises in water that we saw in south Wales and Wales generally, which is causing a lot of problems," he said. BBC Newsquote:Flood fears ease as rains lighten
Flood fears are easing across England and Wales as showers replace heavy rain and river levels settle. The Environment Agency said it expected rivers to stabilise but was keeping a "very watchful eye" on the north east of England and the River Ouse. The BBC Weather Centre said persistent rain would give way to showers later.
Flash floods have hit Yorkshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. There are still about 80 flood warnings in place. The north east of England is worst affected with seven severe flood warnings. That had been fears that the heavy rain which affected parts of England and Wales would continue to cause flooding and rising river levels for several days.
The BBC Weather Centre said between 5mm and 10mm of rainfall was expected in north east England on Sunday, compared with between 30mm and 40mm of rainfall on Saturday.
Northumberland has been particularly badly affected with an estimated 1,000 properties flooded in Morpeth. Hundreds of people have had to spend the night in temporary accommodation. Paul Hedley, of Northumberland Fire and Rescue, said Morpeth was a "scene of utter devastation" but "by and large, the evacuation and rescue attempts all worked very well". Northumberland County Council member Andrew Tebbutt said Morpeth was "virtually cut off" from the outside world by the rising water but the situation had "eased considerably" overnight.
BBC correspondent Chris Buckler said restoring houses in a clean-up operation would take months. Five people have died in accidents related to the heavy rains. Two people died in flash floods on Friday. A 27-year-old man died in a mudslide on a building site in Stroud, Gloucestershire. In Wales, a 17-year-old girl from Thamesmead, south London, died while on holiday in Powys when the 4X4 car she was travelling in overturned into a river. A couple were killed when their car crashed into a tree in heavy rain in Plymouth, Devon, on Friday. It has also emerged that a 42-year-old Sheffield man was killed when the Kawasaki motorbike he was riding hit a tree branch on the A66 on Friday afternoon.
'Frightful' Morpeth was inundated after the River Wansbeck burst its banks. At least 110 people were rescued by boat in the area between 1600 BST and midnight and minibuses were also used to ferry people to higher ground. Many were elderly residents living in bungalows. Police said hundreds of people sheltered on Saturday night at King Edward VI School after being evacuated from their homes, while a further 50 were at County Hall. Mr Tebutt told the BBC about the rescue effort.
"It's frightful, it's awful, but we've been working hard and we've actually got some 400 people who we've evacuated," he said. An RAF helicopter was called to help three stranded police officers on Saturday night. A Northumbria Police spokesman said the officers had originally been called to help some motorists cut off by a landslide 10 miles west of Alnwick. The members of the public were taken to safety, but the officers were trapped by another landslide at about 2100 BST. They were later led to safety unharmed at about 2330 BST by Northumberland Search and Rescue.
The Environment Agency said the wet summer had not helped the situation, as it meant soils in many places were already saturated and unable to absorb any more rainwater. The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has five flood warnings in place, for Jed Water, Gala Water, Blackadder Water and Langton Burn, Teviot Water and the River Tyne at Haddington.
Baby trapped Around Pickering in North Yorkshire, several properties and roads were flooded after the local beck burst its banks. But the Environment Agency has now given the area the all-clear. Fire crews have been on hand to pump out houses and residents have been told to move possessions upstairs. In the village of Kirkley Mill, Northumberland, an RSPCA emergency team, called out to help some horses, found themselves rescuing a baby trapped in a car.
Many sporting and cultural events also had to be cancelled due to the wet weather. Gloucestershire's biggest agricultural event, the Moreton-in-Marsh show, was abandoned, as were race meetings at Haydock Park, Merseyside; Stratford, Warwickshire; Gosforth Park, Newcastle, and Worcester, Worcestershire. And Leicestershire's Pro 40 cricket game against Northamptonshire at Grace Road has been called off because of heavy rain overnight. People have been advised to keep updated through news outlets and to call the Floodline on 0845 988 1188. |