Heavy rain sparks fresh flooding fears
FEARS run high that heavy rain in Wales for the next few days will cause more flooding to Gloucestershire after Storm Dennis brought chaos to the county.
Homes in Gloucester have been evacuated and households were invited to seek shelter if needed in the GL1 Leisure Centre in the worst flooding since 2014.
Environment bosses had issued six red flood warnings in the city by yesterday morning and there were areas in the county which were also at risk of becoming submerged.
Parts of the A40, as well as other major roads including the A417 and the A38, have turned into rivers, bringing the county’s road system creaking to a halt.
Some motorists seemed to think they knew better and ignored signs, driving through fast-flowing waters.
Dave Phelps, 75, breathed a huge sigh of relief after narrowly avoiding getting stranded in floodwater in Gloucester after he ignored official advice and drove through a long, flooded stretch of Sandhurst Lane.
He described the incident as “a bit hairy”.
Gloucester Rugby were forced to alter their training plans as a result of the severe flooding that led to the closure of the A417 at Maisemore.
The first team squad did not train at their headquarters at Hartpury University yesterday with cars stuck in the aftermath of Storm Dennis.
Instead, Gloucester trained at the Oxstalls Campus of the University of Gloucestershire, as they did last week in the wake of Storm Ciara, and the media session was moved from Hartpury to Kingsholm Stadium.
In Tewkesbury, the town is yet again under two feet of water and has been dubbed “Tewkesbury-on-sea”.
Roads were badly affected by the aftermath of Storm Dennis as flood water poured across key routes in the town centre on Tuesday.
Some motorists abandoned their cars in the flood water, which affected the A438 Ashchurch Road.
Gloucestershire County Council also urged lorry drivers to avoid the town centre because of the floodwater with some that nearly became stuck after finding routes through the town blocked by water.
At Ashleworth, the River Severn burst its banks, with the historic pub, The Boat Inn, under two feet of floodwater for the second time in four months.
Despite flood defence barriers being in place, the water entered the property on Tuesday.
Furniture had been raised up to try to keep it dry but landlord Mark Fox said the pub would be shut for several days while they continued to pump out the water. He said: “It does have a massive impact on trade. We’ve obviously still got outgoings, bills to pay and the rent.
“And at this time of year we don’t have a slush fund.”
In Cheltenham there was a race against time for builders to finish a DIY SOS project to revamp a family’s bungalow as part of the popular BBC programme.
Work has been under way for the past week and the Chapman family had been promised they would be back in their Charlton Kings home today.
Build manager Mark Millar said: “We’re going a million miles an hour at the moment. Once again the workers have not had their spirits dampened. They’re such funny, happy, energetic and glorious people.”
The weather had caused problems for the build, with last weekend being so wet that the team could not work on the large back garden at the site.
Peter Chapman’s wife Sarah and their daughter Suzanne suffer from myotonic dystrophy, a long-term genetic disorder which affects muscle function. It recently claimed the life of the couple’s other daughter, Margaret.
Peter also has fibromyalgia, a longterm condition which causes pain all over the body.
Further afield, in Worcestershire one woman died after she got trapped in her car and the Severn Area Rescue team have been deployed to various parts of the region.
And in Monmouth, where the River Monnow has burst its banks, the town’s treatment works for Welsh Water became flooded, meaning some people had no water.
One woman spent the night on Tuesday on top of her car at Bigsweir after she got trapped in floodwater.
On Wednesday afternoon the rivers
Avon, Frome and Severn had 27 “flooding is expected warnings” across the county and its borders.
The River Severn was expected to remain high yesterday.
Severe flood warnings – meaning a threat to life – are in place at Upton upon Severn and the River Wye at Hampton Bishop in Herefordshire.
But the end is not in sight yet with people in Gloucestershire urged to be prepared for more rain.
A yellow weather warning in South Wales was in place for heavy rain for yesterday and today, which could see water running off the hills and into Gloucestershire rivers.
A Met Office spokesman explained that rainfall on the eastern side of the Welsh hills often falls into the catchment of the Severn.
He added that it was difficult to work out how long it might take for Welsh rain to contribute towards flooding in Gloucestershire.
“The response time, or lag time, varies dramatically. It’s about how the catchment reacts.”
The roads which were closed yesterday afternoon were:
» Strategic routes:
» A417 Maisemore – Road closed due to river flooding
» B4213 Haw Bridge, Tirley – Road closed due to river flooding
» B4234 Lower Lydbrook – Road closed due to flooding
» A438 Ashchurch Road Tewkesbury (outside Morrison’s)
» B4080 Bredon Road Tewkesbury (by The White Bear pub)
» Gloucester Road Tewkesbury (by Abbey)
» A4136 Staunton to Monmouth » A38 between Longford roundabout and Twigworth
» Minor routes: Tewkesbury Area
» Wainlodes Lane, Norton » Chaceley (Church Lane, Rock Street)
» Tirley (Ham Road) » Ashleworth » Minor roads around Twyning » Tewkesbury – Swilgate Lane, Gander Lane, Walton Cardiff
» Sandhurst Lane, Sandhurst at the junction with St Oswald’s Road
» Sivell Close, Longford
Forest Area
» Murrell’s End, Hartpury – Road closed due to flooding
» Spout Lane, Mitcheldean – Road closed due to flooding
» Hawcross Lane, Redmarley – Road closed due to flooding
» Taynton Lane, Taynton – Road closed due to flooding
» Carrisbrook Road/bradley Court Road – Flooding passable with care
East Area
» Cerney Wick outside Mill House – Road closed due to flooding
» Rodmarton outside Trull cottages – Road closed due to flooding
» Ashton Road, Siddington – Road closed due to flooding
» Station Road, South Cerney – Flooding passable with care