Lightning, floods and storms as heatwave is forgotten
Pastor Dale Morgan
Lightning, floods and storms as heatwave is forgotten*
By Nicole Martin
(Filed: 19/08/2006)
UK - Severe weather warnings for most of the country were in force
yesterday after torrential rain led to flooding, dangerous driving
conditions and lightning damaged buildings.
With the July heatwave forgotten, families were evacuated from their
homes, roads were closed and rail passengers delayed as heavy storms
lashed parts of Britain.
Heavy rain clouds over the Oval, where England are taking on Pakistan
A mother carrying her baby was thrown across a room after lightning
struck the roof of her Midlands home. The lightning destroyed the
family's television set and ripped plugs from their sockets.
Kate Saunders, 26, a supermarket assistant, was decorating her bedroom
when she heard a loud bang that sounded like a "bomb blast".
She said "It was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen. "One minute
I was stripping the wallpaper and the next myself and Dylan were blown
across the room. The neighbours said it was like a mini fireworks
display on my roof."
In Greater Manchester, a care home for the elderly was evacuated after
lightning struck a chimney on the building and blew up eight television
sets as residents watched the Richard and Judy show.
Residents at Beech House in Heywood were watching television on Thursday
evening when the bolt hit the chimney, which collapsed and cut off
electricity supplies, forcing 26 people to be moved to temporary housing.
One of the residents, Esther Parkes, 92 said: "I have never heard
anything so loud. The slates kept falling past my bedroom window. We
should never underestimate the power of natural forces."
Nita Bowdler, the home's manager, said: "It was just as if a bomb was
going off. We realised what had happened immediately and just as quickly
the electricity went off. I was terrified."
In the South West on Thursday, mudslides struck the village of Gulval,
near Penzance, Cornwall. In Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, firemen
evacuated 20 people from their homes yesterday morning after an
electricity substation caught fire and exploded after a lightning strike.
Thousands of rail passengers also faced delays yesterday after lightning
struck a series of signals on the East Coast main line. A Network Rail
spokesman said that 35 services had been cancelled as a result of the
bad weather.
But the heavy rain failed to dampen the spirits of thousands of music
fans who were erecting tents yesterday in preparation for today's V
Festival in Weston Park, Staffs.
More than 150,000 revellers are expected at the event which takes place
over two days at two sites: Weston Park and Chelmsford, Essex.
Severe weather warnings remained in force for parts of the Midlands,
northern England, central southern England, the West Country, Devon and
Cornwall, and south-east Scotland.
The Meteorolgical Office said that the wet weather would continue over
the weekend, particularly in the north of England.
"There will be rain pretty much across the length and breadth of the
country for the next 24 to 36 hours," said Barry Gromett, a Met Office
spokesman. "Nowhere will be completely dry. The weather will cause a lot
of disruption, including flash floods, traffic accidents and damage to
property."
He added: "Unfortunately we're not going to see a return to the extreme
temperatures we had in July, although the weather will settle slightly
next week."