LONDON - Britons were bracing themselves for further flooding misery as a
fresh series of devastating storms were forecast to hit the UK on
Friday night.
Gales of up to 128km/h and heavy rainfall of up to 2cm were predicted,
threatening more havoc around already overflowing rivers.
Saturday’s storms are expected to be at least as severe as those that
caused widespread destruction across southern England last week. Waves
of up to 10m will batter the Cornish coast, according to forecasters
from surf website magicseaweed.com.
Laura Young from the Met Office said on Friday night: “The concerning
thing [on Sunday] is the wind in Cornwall, Devon and South Wales in
particular. We have got severe gales so we could see winds of between
80km/h and 96km/h inland, and 112km/h to 129km/h on the coast. With
those winds will be a band of rain, so there will be squally showers.”
After some respite on Sunday and Monday, a “deep depression” is likely
to move in from the west in the early hours of Tuesday, bringing more
wind and rain, she said. Royal Marines were on Friday drafted in to
evacuate residents who have been forced to abandon their homes amid the
rising water. A handful defiantly stayed behind amid reports of looting
in the Somerset area.
Severe flood warnings — meaning a risk to life — remained in place for
the Somerset Levels last night. There were another 166 flood warnings
and 303 flood alerts across south-east England, the South West and
Wales.
The River Wey in Guildford, Surrey, burst its banks last night leading
to road closures and problems with sewage after pipes burst.
The ground in southern England is already saturated and every 10mm of
rain on a square metre of land.
Source: Agencies
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