CHRISTOPHSTROPHE
Storm batters UK and leaves streets underwater – with more rain on way
HUNDREDS of residents were evacuated from their homes after more than a month’s rain in 56 hours turned rivers into raging torrents – with at least one person feared drowned.
Storm Christoph brought a trail of destruction to North West England and Wales yesterday, and worse could be yet to come as across the country major rivers are still rising and may overflow.
Scenes of devastation included 18thcentury Llanerch Bridge over the River Clwyd being dramatically swept away in North Wales.
Households in parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside woke up yes
‘The brook burst and we were cut off’
terday in temporary accommodation after having to leave their homes.
Fire services used inflatable boats to pull people through flooded streets. Fifty residents at a retirement village in Northwich, Cheshire, were evacuated.
Dozens of pensioners – some suffering from dementia – were left without power and heating. Lesley Davenport, whose 87year- old grandmother and 94-year- old grandfather live at Weaver Court, said: ‘They are going to be really cold – that is the main concern.’
Teachers at Tattenhall Park primary school, near Chester, had to spend the night there after becoming trapped by floodwater.
Anna Comish, who teaches Year 5, said: ‘We tried to leave but the brook burst at about 3.30pm and we were just cut off.’ Meanwhile, a sinkhole opened up leading to the collapse of two Victorian terrace house frontages in Manchester.
And in Cardiff, emergency services spent yesterday afternoon searching for a body spotted in the swollen River Taff.
As people whose homes were flooded begin their clean-up today, the levels of major rivers such as the Wye, Severn and Ouse have yet to reach their peak. The highest flows on sections of the Severn in Gloucestershire are not likely until tomorrow – and flood warnings remain in force until then.
Last night, three danger-to-life flood warnings remained on rivers in Cheshire, and there were 190 warnings overall – meaning flooding is expected – across England and Wales.
There was also a coronavirus vaccine scare after a factory that helps produce the Oxford jab was saved from flooding.
Teams worked through the night on Wednesday to pump water away from the Wockhardt factory in Wrexham, North Wales, which fills vials with the vaccine before shipping them off to be used by the NHS.
Council leader Mark Pritchard told Sky News: ‘They were under
pressure. They had serious concerns that their warehouse, logistically, could be flooded.’
First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, tweeted: ‘Massive thank you to everyone who worked so hard to protect supplies of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.’
In a statement, Wockhardt confirmed: ‘The site is now secure and operating as normal.’
Other incidents yesterday included homes evacuated in Loftus, North Yorkshire, and police having to be rescued when their patrol car became stranded in floodwater from the River Derwent at Darley Abbey, Derby.
The River Dee in North Wales reached 53.8ft – higher than the previous record of 53.6ft in 2011 – sparking an evacuation of 30 residents from the village of Bangor-on-Dee.
One of the people whose homes were devastated by Storm Christoph was Gabrielle Burns- Smith of Lymm, Cheshire. The 44-year-old said she and partner James Dainty, 38, desperately cleared grates and drains but eventually the waters breached their house.
She said: ‘By 3pm the water outside was shin- deep and by 4pm it was knee-deep. We were seriously worrying.’ The couple and their dog Tag are now living upstairs while they wait for the water to subside.
Rainfall through Tuesday, Wednesday and until 8am yesterday reached a maximum of 7.4ins at Aberllefenni, Powys, compared to an average of 6.4ins for the whole of January.
The wettest place in England over the same 56-hour period was Bolton, Greater Manchester, where there was six inches against an average January rainfall of 4.03ins.
Craig Woolhouse, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said: ‘Our thoughts are with anyone who has been affected, and our teams are working round the clock, deploying temporary flood defences and closing flood barriers, and so far have protected over 9,000 properties.’
As well as the heavy rain, there was also snow. Leek in Staffordshire received 2.4ins through Wednesday night into yesterday, while Pennine areas had about 2ins.
A combination of cold days with showers and frosty nights lies ahead over the weekend.
Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon also warned: ‘Unsettled conditions are due to return next week with milder air bringing more wind and rain.’