Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SHOCK AND THAW
Flood warnings as big freeze ends
his body was recovered from the city’s Rochdale canal by police.
The grim discovery came as blizzards gave way to floods, black ice and fog.
With temperatures slowly rising, the Environment Agency issued 11 flood warnings in Devon, Cornwall and the south coast, and four in the North East.
The M62 in Greater Manchester reopened after 24 hours, but the crossPennine A66 remained shut between the A1M at Scotch Corner and Bowes. In badly-hit Somerset, at least 10 lives were saved by volunteers, said rescue co-ordinators. The four buried on the Mendips under eight feet of snow were said by search team leader Duncan Massey to be “very, very lucky”.
Two hill walkers had to be rescued from Exmoor. Struggling hospitals in Taunton and Yeovil were so stretched yesterday they appealed for 4x4 drivers to provide transport for essential staff over the weekend.
Meanwhile determined hero community nurse Alison Tyrell used a quad bike to reach her patients in Exmoor villages cut off by the snow.
Thousands of trains were cancelled nationwide , with more than 20 rail operators still running a reduced service. At Holyhead, North Wales, high seas caused by Storm Emma left more than 80 boats sunk or badly damaged, with the bill expected to run to millions of pounds.
Meanwhile, families were yesterday warned they faced a wave of energy price hikes as the cold snap pushed up the cost of gas by almost 400 per cent.
Suppliers are believed to be preparing to hike household bills to cover the increased prices they will have to meet on the wholesale market.
Industry experts predict bills could rise by as much as £60 a
year.