More flooding as England battles power cuts, water shortages
Pastor Dale Morgan
More flooding as England battles power cuts, water shortages*
OXFORD, England (AFP) - - Further water surges were expected in southern
England Wednesday as Britain's worst floods in 60 years saw evacuations,
the threat of power cuts and a lack of fresh water for thousands.
Tributaries feeding the River Thames engulfed several areas in the
university city of Oxford overnight. Some 250 homes were evacuated and
residents given emergency shelter at a nearby football stadium.
But despite fears that an electricity substation supplying the historic
city centre would be submerged, police said widespread blackouts were
not now expected, although there had been localised power cuts.
Downstream, the London commuter town of Reading, the royal castle city
of Windsor and Henley, famous for its annual rowing regatta, were among
other places threatened as river levels were expected to peak in the
next 48 hours.
Officials said six severe flood warnings remained in place, but weather
forecasters predicted more rain particularly on Thursday, which could
further increase river levels.
In a visit to flood-hit areas, Prime Minister Gordon Brown asked
emergency crews about their battle to prevent floodwaters from
submerging the Walham electricity substation in the neighboring county
of Gloucestershire.
"You're doing a great job," Brown told them.
Brown earlier pledged a review of Britain's utilities infrastructure,
drainage and flood defences.
The emergency services managed to restore power to more than 48,000
homes in the county of Gloucestershire, where the town of Tewkesbury was
cut off by the rising waters of the River Severn.
But although river levels there were said to have peaked, and even
dropped in some places, allowing a clean-up to begin, utility Severn
Trent said mains water supplies in the county could be off for at least
two weeks.
That has triggered emergency measures for the 140,000 homes and more
than 350,000 people affected amid concern that sewerage mixed with flood
water could pose health hazards, Gloucestershire County Council said
Wednesday.
Severn Trent has set up 900 bowsers -- mobile water tankers -- in
Tewkesbury and the nearby cities of Cheltenham and Gloucester, while the
army has been drafted in to provide four million litres of bottled
drinking water.
The council said 1,300 portable toilets were being provided for
vulnerable people in places like care homes.
Beer tankers have also been used to provide water to places hardest hit,
with the British Beer and Pub Association joking that it has been a
reversal of its usual job of turning water into beer.
Meanwhile, police warned that a small minority of people were attempting
to profiteer from the high demand for clean water by re-selling water,
or emptying bowsers with large receptacles.
"That is theft, and that is being treated as theft," said Tim Brain,
Gloucestershire police's chief constable.
The floods in central and western England come less than a month after
large swathes of northern England were hit by massive downpours that
caused flash floods, cut off towns and affected transport networks.
In the latest cases, rivers topped levels reached during floods in 1947.
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has promised an extra 10 million
pounds (14.9 million euros, 20.5 million dollars) on top of the current
14 million pounds available to local councils.
Brown said a total of 46 million pounds would be available for areas hit
in both flooding incidents.
Analysts have estimated the floods could cost the insurance industry
three billion pounds and hit farmers and food crops.