Chaos across the country as storm causes flash flooding
FLASH floods and lightning strikes caused chaos across the country yesterday as a month’s worth of rain fell in just an hour in some areas.
A man and his five-year-old son were left fighting for their lives and a young girl was seriously injured after the trio were struck by lightning during a school sports day in Northern Ireland.
In south London, flash floods submerged cars and drivers had to be rescued from their vehicles after what the Met Office described as “exceptionally intense” rainfall. Storms in Scotland also resulted in a house being hit by lightning and flooding in many areas. Border control systems at Luton Airport crashed due to a thunderstorm.
Last night the Theatre Royal in Windsor was evacuated during the second half of a performance of One Man,
Two Guvnors because of flooding. Reports on social media said water had reached the front seats of the theatre.
The Met Office issued two yellow warnings for rain in central, western and southern UK and said the intense weather could continue today.
After many areas enjoyed bright sunshine and highs of 80F (27C) on Monday, thunderstorms and flash floods battered the country yesterday.
In Lisburn, Co Antrim, lightning hit three members of one family during a sports event. The father and son were left in a critical condition while the seven-year-old girl had serious burns.
Forecasters estimated some 1.6in (40mm) of rain fell in just an hour in south London, an area where the average rainfall for the whole of June is just 1.9in (49mm). Bystander Paul Jolly said he watched as people were forced to flee on Wallington High Street as the road began to flood.
He said: “It started off with a little bit of rain … cars obviously tried to make it through under the bridge and then suddenly it was like the world was ending. Three cars got caught. People were being dragged out.” London Fire Brigade said it had received more than 100 flood-related calls, and had attended incidents thought to have been caused by lightning, including trees, hoardings and telephone poles set alight.
Grahame Madge, a forecaster for the Met Office, said the downpours could continue to cause localised flooding, and travel disruption today. “We have warm, very moist air coming in from the Continent and the heat added to the warm air causes it to rise and sees the development of these showers,” he said. “The intensity of those can be very severe in localised areas – as we have seen in some places like London and Brighton.”
Hundreds of passengers were left stranded for hours at Luton airport’s passport control after its computer systems crashed due to a thunderstorm.
Border control guards were unable to log into their computers after the storm triggered a power surge.
‘Suddenly, it was like the world was ending. Three cars got caught. People were being dragged out’