Paddle board horror
Two feared dead in flood
TWO paddleboarders are believed to have died after being swept away in a devastating flash flood yesterday.
A third was airlifted to hospital in a serious condition after parts of the UK were hit with almost a month’s worth of rain in 48 hours. More downpours are expected today.
At least three people were out on boards in the River Cleddau, near the centre of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, when they were hit by the flood-water surge.
One witness said: “They recovered one body and a young woman was pulled out of the river and wasn’t looking too good.
“They were just below the weir when they were hit by a flash flood which came from nowhere. It was raining hard at the time, and the river levels are high because of the bad weather we’ve had this week.”
Emergency services were called at around 9am yesterday following reports of “people in distress”. Four helicopters took part in the search operation along with police and firefighters’ dinghies.
Meanwhile, yellow weather warnings for heavy rain remain in several places – including Glasgow where the COP26 climate summit starts today.
The Environment Agency yesterday said there were eight flood warnings in place across the UK and 51 alerts, meaning flooding remains likely. It comes after a week of wet weather in which parts of Dartmoor, in Devon, received 125mm of rain in 48 hours. The average for the whole of October is 130mm.
Honister Pass in Cumbria was also hammered by 110mm of rain in 48 hours and two months’ worth in a week. Some 40 properties were flooded.
Rail firms across the UK have also warned of potential disruption to services due to bad weather.
Met Office forecaster Annie Shuttleworth said: “We’re expecting localised flooding and there will be some travel disruption. Rain will most likely last a bit longer into Sunday.”