‘Highest flood levels’ devastate Shrewsbury
SHREWSBURY has been hit by one of the worst floods ever recorded, after a staggering 400 tons of water a second surged into the town.
The nearby River Severn has seen water levels rising rapidly, leading to an official danger to life warning.
Much of the Shropshire town is already underwater, with hundreds of sandbags placed outside of shops and business premises.
Dave Throup, of the Environment Agency, warned the latest persistent rainfall in the Welsh hills could be a devastating blow to the rising water levels.
Saturated
Writing on Twitter, he said: “You’ve heard about the straw that broke the camel’s back? This might be it. More heavy rain on top of saturated ground and huge rivers.”
After inspecting the levels on the River Severn yesterday morning, he added: “An incredible 400 tons of water a second are approaching Shrewsbury on the River Severn.We have one of the highest recordings.”
Mr Throup said significant floods would hit Shrewsbury and also-Worcester over the next three days.
He added: “We will be deploying more flood defences in Shrewsbury soon.
“Flood warnings have been issued for the town and we now expect levels to exceed those seen last week.
“These will be the highest seen in 20 years.
“Some property flooding and significant disruption are now expected.”
Police are warning residents to avoid any flood-hit areas and to only make journeys that are essential.
Shropshire Council is in discussions about plans to install a £40million flood defence scheme to protect the town in future.
Councillor Steve Davenport said: “We’ve been thinking about ways to hold back the River Severn for some time now but, given what’s happened recently, it needs to be brought forward.
“Plans suggest that, when the North West Relief Road is built, the river could be held back under the bridge.That is going to be constructed by putting in flood attenuation panels that would slow down the flow of the water and stop it from rising so quickly.
“It’s a very big scheme that could cost upwards of £40million, but it will really benefit thousands and thousands of homes in these counties that have been devastated by the floods.”
Residents have described the floods as “biblical” as they desperately try and protect their homes and businesses.
Hayley Lock, 40, said: “I live near the river and I am really scared.
“I’ve never seen the river so high. It’s biblical out there.
“Urgent money needs to be ploughed into all towns that are at risk from flooding.
“Forget HS2 [high speed railway], we need the cash to protect our towns now.”