ARMY DRAFTED IN TO HELP VICTIMS OF STORM DESMOND
The clear-up operation is under way after Storm Desmond battered parts of North Wales.
Strong winds and heavy rain tore through Britain on Saturday, leading to the death of a man and causing Cumbria, believed to be the worst affected county, to declare a major incident.
The north was the worst affected area in Wales, with trees down, flooding, numerous road closures and hundreds of homes left without power.
In Beaumaris, firefighters worked tirelessly for more than 20 hours to stop a castle moat overflowing and flooding the historic Anglesey town.
Residents were put on standby to be evacuated on Saturday night as crews battled to bring the rising water levels under control.
The seaside town’s communityrun leisure centre opened its doors to provide refuge for people unable to travel back to nearby Llangoed due to flooding.
Fire crews, called out on Saturday at 2pm, used a high-volume pump to drain the moat overnight. Alan Bryant, a committee member at Beaumaris Leisure Centre, said: “We were ready but fortunately the moat never went over.
“We had a few people who couldn’t get to Llangoed.”
Strong winds and flooding led to huge disruption in North Wales on Saturday, with road and bridge closures, axed rail services and hundreds of homes left without power.
Rescue teams, including a helicopter crew from North Wales, were sent to Cumbria to help with the emergency response to severe flooding there, after more than a month’s rainfall in just 24 hours.
In Eamont Bridge, south of Penrith, Cumbria, 150 people were rescued by the Coastguard from a flooded static caravan park. The village of Braithwaite was cut off when its main bridge collapsed as the river burst its banks.
The Coastguard rescue helicopter from Caernarfon rescued four people cut off on the wrong side of a landslide after heavy rainfall at Thirlmere Reservoir.
The helicopter was also sent to airlift six people from their flooded bungalow near Ullswater.
RNLI volunteers from across North Wales also assisted colleagues in Cumbria, with teams
from Pwllheli, Moelfre, Beaumaris, Abersoch, Criccieth, and Rhyl.
A 90-year-old man lost his life after he was believed to have been blown into the side of a moving bus by a gust of wind, near Finchley Central Tube station, north London.
Around 350 army personnel from 2nd Battalion Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, based near Preston, assisted with the flooding response.
They arrived with two vehicles to help evacuate and warn residents in Carlisle and also sent a Chinook helicopter to move high-velocity pumping equipment needed to attend to an electricity substation.
An emergency Government Cobra meeting has been called to organise effective flooding responses.