A month’s rain in just 24 hours
Xmas shoppers stranded amid ‘danger to life’ flood warnings
A DELUGE of rain caused flooding and transport chaos yesterday, with a month’s worth due to fall in 24 hours by this morning.
The downpour, which lasted all day and was set to continue all night, caused a river to burst its banks and flood roads and houses in the village of Whiston, South Yorkshire.
There was also heavy flooding in nearby Sheffield, with residents urged not to travel ‘unless absolutely necessary’.
Hundreds were stranded at the city’s Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield after a Christmas Live event was called off due to the torrential rain. Police were forced to turn exiting motorists back into the centre’s car parks as the surrounding gridlock was so severe.
The band of torrential rain, stretching from Lancashire to Lincolnshire, caused more disruption to rail commuters, with the Northern network hit by floodwater. Last night, an amber weather warning was in place for a large area of South and West Yorkshire and Derbyshire, with the Met Office warning that severe flooding could pose a ‘danger to life’.
The Environment Agency also had 60 flood warnings in force, mainly for the same area, with issues due to worsen overnight.
Firefighters were called in to rescue residents after Whiston Brook burst its banks. There were reports that floodwater in some parts of the village was up to 10ft deep.
Liz Churton, 58, a PhD student, lost artwork, equipment, books and furniture when her basement studio was flooded in just an hour yesterday morning. She said: ‘By 10am I was wading through and it was up to my knees. The whole of my basement is flooded and I have a studio down there. It’s a couple of metres deep and the house looks like a boathouse.’
Meanwhile, there were road closures in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire, and reports of motorists trapped in vehicles. Last night some junctions of the M1 were closed near Sheffield due to gridlock in the area.
Councillor Mark Jones, the city’s environment chief, warned: ‘Stay home, stay warm and dry and stay safe. Don’t travel unless absolutely necessary.’ Flooding closed rail lines linking Sheffield with Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire and Manchester, with Northern also issuing ‘do not travel’ advice. Stations in Rotherham were also closed.
The Met Office said the heaviest rain was in Langsett, South Yorkshire, where 2.3in fell in a 12-hour period – more than two weeks’ worth in an average November.