Flood-hit South facing fresh wave of torrential rain
THE UK is braced for further downpours as forecasters warn some regions could see up to a month’s rainfall in just a few hours.
The Met Office extended a yellow warning for rain in southern England to last until 6am today, despite estimates that it would end at 10pm last night.
The rain and thunderstorms have caused travel chaos with part of the M2 closed yesterday and Cannon Street Tube station in London shut to some trains due to flooding. Yesterday, London Fire Bridge went to 50 flooding incidents in one hour.
A Met Office spokesman said: “This is only the third time we have seen a storm like this in 10 years. The average rainfall for May is 57mm (2.16in). However, some places, including Bexley, have seen 19.5mm in just six hours.” The spokesman added that it was predicted some regions could see “up to 30mm in an hour or 4050mm in a couple of hours”.
The M2 was closed between junctions 4 and 5 in Kent due to standing water.
In the West Midlands, a person was taken to hospital on Sunday after being rescued from the roof of a car in floodwater. And in Walsall a man in his 80s died after his camper van became submerged.