Day Millionaires’ Row turned into Little Venice
THESE were the scenes of devasta- tion yesterday as a burst water main left a historic part of London looking more like Venice.
Townhouses worth £4million and upmarket businesses in trendy Islington were flooded with up to 6ft of water.
Torrents knocked down walls and smashed through windows in what distraught residents described as being ‘like a tsunami’.
About 100 people were evacuated, some carried to safety by firemen. Around 50 homes and businesses were hit, with up to 20 properties, including the 173-year-old St John the Evangelist church, pumped out by the fire brigade.
Neighbours of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on an exclusive street were among those whose houses were ruined. Many residents face having to move out for six months or longer so their properties can dry out and be repaired.
Former magazine editor Stuart Rock and his TV producer wife Jo Willett told how their basement kitchen ended up under 6ft of water.
‘We were woken at around 6.30am by the police saying there was a burst water main,’ Mr Rock said. ‘We raced downstairs and saw water coming through the French windows. I opened up the curtains into the basement and it was like looking into an aquarium. Within about 15 minutes it was like a tsunami in the back garden. We could have been in a disaster movie.’
Miss Willett said many sentimental items had been ruined. ‘We didn’t even know what to save as we didn’t have time to think,’ she said.
Bernard Fishel, 93, and his wife Margaret, 75, were evacuated shortly before 6am. ‘We do not have family to stay with so I do not know what we will do for Christmas,’ Mrs Fishel said.
The cost of the clear-up is likely to run into many millions of pounds. Last night Thames Water said it was ‘too early to tell’ what caused the 36in water main to burst in a street close to famous North London landmark The Angel.
Several roads, including part of the busy A1, remained closed. A pub was turned into a refuge for residents while emergency accommodation was organised.
Thames Water said: ‘We expect our repairs to continue throughout this week. We’ll be working 24 hours a day and doing all we can to make sure residents’ needs are met. It was our pipe that burst and it’s our responsibility to put things right.’