Britain facing heaviest storm of the year
• Road and rail chaos in Wales and the south of England
• Met Office warns of 80mph winds
The biggest storm of the year was due to strike parts of Britain this weekend, with scores of flood alerts and experts warning that winds strong enough to uproot trees would arrive today.
The wild weather hit Wales and the south of England last night, causing road and rail chaos and cancelling ferry crossings. The Met Office warned the storm would continue into this morning, with winds of up to 80mph in the south. They will be strong enough to bring down trees and branches or damage buildings. People in coastal areas of Hampshire, West Sussex, Dorset and south Wales were warned that the winds, combined with high tides and large waves, could cause sea flooding.
Firefighters across mid and west Wales attended 141 separate callouts by midnight last night. Pembrokeshire had been hardest hit with widespread flooding on roads trapping people in their cars.
Firefighters using a boat and a Land Rover rescued a woman stranded by floodwater in the Rosemarket, at Milford Haven. In Haverfordwest 12 people were rescued from a coach trapped in floodwater between Caneston Bridge and Cross Hands Road. A total of 14 people were rescued from vehicles in and around Tenby.
The Environment Agency issued a severe flood warning last night for Christchurch harbour in Dorset, warning of "extreme danger to life and property", as well as more than 20 flood warnings – in Wales and the south or south-west of England – indicating homes and businesses could be flooded. The agency also issued at least 90 flood watch alerts, warning of flooding to low-lying land and roads. Toby Willison, the agency's southern regional director, said: "People should be aware that there will be a lot of water around. They should avoid trying to drive or walk through any flooding and be sensible out and about on the coast."
Brittany Ferries said it had cancelled sailings from Plymouth to Roscoff and Poole to Cherbourg, although sailings from Portsmouth to Caen and St Malo were unaffected. The Port of Dover said some cross-Channel sailings were disrupted.The AA urged drivers to take care and said Land Rovers would be on patrol in the worst-hit areas. AA driving expert Mark Peacock said: "Torrential rain and standing water will expose drivers to the dual hazards of poor visibility and possible aquaplaning – add to this sudden wind gusts and conditions will be quite challenging in some areas."He said drivers should ease off the accelerator and slow down gradually if steering became difficult due to the heavy rain. He also warned drivers to maintain a steady, slow speed through flood water to avoid creating a bow wave that could wreck the engine.
The hills of Dartmoor, Exmoor and Wales could see up to 75mm (3in) of rain, while much of the UK will see 25mm. However, the Met Office predicted a "brief respite" by the end of the weekend ahead of more storms next week.
In west Cornwall yesterday there were reports of water up to 60cm deep making roads impassable. Water came over the sea wall at Penzance and in Padstow several houses were hit by flash floods. A windsurfer was rescued by a coastguard helicopter after he was washed on to rocks at Warren Point, Devon, in force 11 winds.
No comments:
Post a Comment