Widespread flooding after major storm hits Britain

Weather agency issues rare 'danger to life' warning; storm also batters much of France

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Streets in England and Wales look more like Venice after fierce weekend storms. British Environmental Secretary George Eustice says over a 1,000 of his agency's staff are trying to help the devastated communities.
A flooded high street in Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire, western England, yesterday. More than a month's worth of rain fell in 48 hours in some parts of Britain. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A flooded high street in Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire, western England, yesterday. More than a month's worth of rain fell in 48 hours in some parts of Britain. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

LONDON • Britain began to clear up yesterday after Storm Dennis battered the country over the weekend, leading the government's weather agency to issue a rare "danger to life" warning amid widespread flooding and high winds.

Hundreds of flood warnings remained in place, including five "severe" warnings around the River Teme in Worcestershire in western England, after more than a month's worth of rain fell in 48 hours in some parts of Britain.

The storm was classified as a "weather bomb" by the national weather service, the Meteorological Office, a term applied when the air pressure of a storm drops by a certain measure in 24 hours, causing huge turbulence and high wind speeds.

A record 594 warnings and alerts had been put in place on Sunday, extending from Scotland's River Tweed to Cornwall in south-west England, while major incidents were declared in South Wales and parts of western England due to flooding.

The storm also battered much of France, with some 20,000 people still without electricity yesterday after suffering power cuts in the north-west of the country and rail traffic disrupted.

In South Wales, the government's weather agency issued a rare red warning, saying there was a risk of "significant impacts from flooding" that included a "danger to life from fast-flowing water, extensive flooding to property and road closures".

Pictures circulated on social media showed the nearby River Taff bursting its banks, while rescue workers rushed to reach people trapped in their homes in Powys.

Police said a man in his 60s died after entering the River Tawe, north of the Welsh city Swansea, but later clarified that the death was not "linked to the adverse weather".

Winds of over 150kmh were recorded in Aberdaron in South Wales.

Roads and railways across Britain were badly affected by the downpours and winds, having barely recovered from a similar storm earlier this month.

The Defence Ministry deployed troops in West Yorkshire, northern England, which suffered badly from flooding caused by the previous weekend's Storm Ciara.

Environment Secretary George Eustice, visiting York, said the government had done "everything that we can do with a significant sum of money" to combat increased flooding.

"We'll never be able to protect every single household just because of the nature of climate change and the fact that these weather events are becoming more extreme," he added.

British Airways and easyJet confirmed they had grounded flights, with footage posted online showing a massive Airbus 380 jet being blown about as it attempted to land in London last Saturday.

Ms Sarah Bridge, 55, who lives in South Herefordshire, close to England's border with Wales, told the BBC that she and her neighbours were shocked by the ferocity of the weather.

"Storm Dennis came like a tornado," she said. "It hit us very badly Saturday evening." She said it had burst through flood doors installed after a previous episode.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NYTIMES

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 18, 2020, with the headline Widespread flooding after major storm hits Britain. Subscribe