boxing day 2012: Houses flooded in South West as heavy rain and high winds move across the UK

Thirteen flood warnings have been issued across the South West and Wales

Between 20mm and 30mm of rain is expected to fall over the next 24 hours

Fuel tanker shed its load in Cornwall last night, race now on to save spawning salmon as petrol leaks into river

Police have closed Penzance promenade where huge waves were affecting the road

Roads closed after accident in Sussex; Yorkshire police warning motorists of black ice

Train services out of Devon and Cornwall have also been disrupted after heavy rain and strong winds

PUBLISHED: 04:29 EST, 14 December 2012 | UPDATED: 08:13 EST, 14 December 2012

The Environment Agency has warned residents — many still mopping up after last month's widespread flooding — to brace themselves for a combination of heavy rain and storm surges as high winds begin to sweep in from the South West.

Cold weather conditions are also causing disruption on the county's motorway network. The A38 in Cornwall has been closed after a lorry shed its load last night, and Yorkshire police are warning motorists of the dangers of black ice. Train services out of Devon and Cornwall have also been disrupted.

There has also been heavy rain in Sussex, where a driver luckily escaped with minor injuries after his car hit a pool of water and ended up in a ditch.

Scroll down for interactive map giving details of the latest flood warnings:

The promenade in Torquay, Devon is battered by waves as bad weather returns to the region

High winds of up to 60mph will affect much of the UK today, reaching up to 70mph in north-east Scotland

Latest flood warnings from the Environment Agency:

The crash happened on the eastbound lane of the A27 at Poling. The driver hit a pool of standing water on the road, lost control of his car and clipped another vehicle. The car ended up upside down, caught in brush at the side of the road, but the driver escaped with minor injuries.

In Cornwall, a towed fuel tanker shed its load last night shortly before 7pm, when it slipped and hit the road.

An urgent race is now on to protect spawning salmon in the River Tiddy as the tanker has spilled round 4,000 litres of unleaded petrol .

The Environment Agency has deployed booms on the river to contain any leaked fuel following the spill, which has closed the A38 at Tideford.

Flooding has also affected about 30 homes and businesses in the Cornish seaside town of Looe. Some premises in the town were still drying out from the last floods in November. The area around the fish market was reported to be worst hit.

Police have closed Penzance promenade where huge waves were affecting the road. Fowey and Mevagissey were also hit by floodwater.

Trains out of the West Country were hit by flooding at Dawlish in Devon.

Weymouth, Dorset has been subjected to flooding after a combination of high tides and on-shore winds pushed the water higher

Looe harbour master Hugh Bowles said: 'I feel desperately sorry for anyone who has been flooded.

'After you've been flooded once of twice, every time it rains hard you always have that in the back of your mind.'

There are more than 30 flood warnings and alerts in place around the West Country.

Flooding is possible for Mounts Bay, Porthleven, Fowey, Looe and Plymouth said the Environment Agency.

Forecasters said the heavy rain would spread east on Friday.

Train services out of Devon and Cornwall have also been disrupted after heavy rain and strong winds. First Great Western said services were blocked by seawater at Dawlish, with buses taking the place of trains. The seafront road in Torquay has been closed around the Shedden Hill Road junction because of flooding, and sewage was flowing from a manhole.

Flooding also affected a number of shops in Bridge Street and Mill Street in Kingsbridge, south Devon.

Taxi driver Nick Sord, 50, from Kingsbridge said: 'It was worst at high tide this morning when the sea was topping the quay.

'It's easing off now and the rain has stopped but there's still a lot of water on the roads around the town.'

The scene on the eastbound lane of the A27 at Poling after a driver hit a pool of standing water

The driver hit a pool of standing water on the road, lost control of his car and clipped another vehicle

Thirteen flood warnings have been issued across the South West and Wales, while a further 47 areas across Scotland, England and Wales have been told to prepare for possible flooding.

Wales will be among the worst hit areas today, with the wet weather expected as the Prince of Wales embarks on a day-long tour of the country.

His tour is due to include a visit to the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, in Carmarthen, an area subject to a flood warning where more than an inch of rain is forecast.[

The Environment Agency has also issued a flood alert near Swansea and Port Talbot, where Charles is due to make his first stops.

The ground in parts of south and west Wales remains saturated from last month's heavy rainfall, the agency said.

Between 20mm and 30mm of rain is expected to fall over the next 24 hours in the South West and Wales.

High winds of up to 60mph will affect much of the UK, reaching up to 70mph in north-east Scotland.

Heavy rain has already started to fall across the South West, which will bear the brunt of the severe weather

Gareth Harvey, a meteorologist for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: 'A band of heavy rain is going to move through the South West of England, with much of the UK affected by it.

A view of last month's flooding from Burrow Mump, on the Somerset levels

Two men work to keep a drain clear behind the Friarage Hospital in North Allerton, North Yorkshire during last month's flooding

Downpours: A road completely submerged near East Lyng, Somerset last month

'It will sweep north-eastwards throughout the day and cause localised flooding in some areas which will get up to 30mm of rain in 24 hours.

'It will be a very wet and windy day before it starts to clear.'

The public have been advised to stay away from seafronts, quaysides and jetties along the south coast to avoid powerful waves.

Nick Roseveare of the Environment Agency said: 'We are keeping a close eye on conditions around our coastline and will issue flood warnings if the risk of flooding increases.

'The critical periods will be the early morning tides over the next three days.

'If they coincide with rain, there's a risk of tide-locking, where water is held in rain-swollen rivers and cannot escape into the sea because of the high tides. This could result in localised flooding.'

Deer at Wonham Manor in Betchworth, Surrey completed this picturesque scene yesterday

The Environment Agency said warnings had been put out overnight, with some reports of minor flooding in pockets of the South West. The coastal town of Looe, in south east Cornwall, was among the worst affected areas, with dozens of commercial properties under flood water this morning.

A spokesman said: 'It has been pretty low-key. There has been a little bit of flooding in West Looe, about 30 businesses, that is due to a tidal event.

'Across the region, we haven't had much flooding, although the Somerset levels are looking quite wet.'

Many properties in the region are still dealing with the destruction caused by flooding last month, when several inches of rain in just a few hours caused rivers to burst their banks, roads to be closed and homes and vehicles to be damaged.

Wintry friend: As the big freeze continues, deer foraged for food and grazed in Petworth Park, West Sussex yesterday

In West Yorkshire this morning, road users were warned by police to take 'extreme' care after a high number of collisions caused by vehicles skidding on black ice.

Areas affected by collisions included both the north and southbound carriageways of the M1 and A1 at various locations, the east and westbound carriageways of the M62 in a number of places and the M606 motorway near Bradford.

The southbound carriageway of the M1 was closed near junction 41 and the A1 southbound was closed near to junction 45.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the force was asking people to take 'extreme care' when travelling to work.

He said: 'West Yorkshire Police has received an exceptionally high amount of road traffic collisions throughout the early hours of the day, mainly on each of the major motorway networks due to vehicles skidding on black ice. Collisions are still being reported.'

The spokesman continued: 'So far we have had no reports of serious injuries but numerous reports of road traffic collisions.

'Emergency services are still dealing with many of these incidents and are working hard to clear the carriageways.'

The Shard skyscraper disappearing into early morning freezing fog this week

Firefighters also had to rescue a woman who plunged into the swollen, icy River Thames in Berkshire this morning. A brigade spokesman said crews were called out at 4am to find the 25-year-old woman on the river bank, threatening to jump in.

She managed to avoid being swept away by the current and two firefighters swam out to rescue her.

After they pulled her out of the water, the woman was rushed to Reading's Royal Berkshire Hospital for treatment.

Three day forecast: A band of heavy rain is going to move through the South West of England, causing localised flooding in some areas, which will get up to 30mm of rain in 24 hours

boxing day 2012

Friday, December 14, 2012

Houses flooded in South West as heavy rain and high winds move across the UK

No comments:

Post a Comment