Britons Begin Repairing Flood Damage as more floods expected
Pastor Dale Morgan
Jul 24, 3:44 PM EDT
*Britons Begin Repairing Flood Damage as more floods expected*
By D'ARCY DORAN
Associated Press Writer
BUSCOT, England (AP) -- Gasoline-powered pumps roared into action
Tuesday as stunned Britons tried to dry out their houses after the worst
flooding in more than half a century.
Downstream from the worst-hit areas, residents nervously watched river
levels, fearing the runoff from the floods could inundate new areas of
western England.
"Every time you see the rain come, you think 'Oh, God,'" said Valerie
Long, as she tore out drenched carpet from her home near the swollen
River Thames in Buscot, about 70 miles west of London.
One man drowned Tuesday after jumping into a rain-swollen river. And a
woman trapped in her home in the town of Tewkesbury lost twins when she
went into labor prematurely and paramedics could not reach her by land.
Two Royal Air Force helicopters were sent and the babies and mother were
taken to the hospital, where the twins died - premature at 21 weeks,
police said.
Police in Tewkesbury were looking for a 19-year-old man who disappeared
after leaving a pub Saturday as flooding increased.
Although sunshine helped shrink water levels Tuesday, more rain was
expected in the next few days. Forecasters, however, said additional
flooding wasn't expected.
"Rainfall-wise, the worst is over, certainly for the working week," said
John Hammond of Met Office, the national weather service.
Queen Elizabeth II sent a message of support to flooded areas, saying
she was "shocked and deeply concerned" by the damage. She thanked the
emergency services, military and volunteers and expressed sympathy "to
all the many people whose homes have been damaged, livelihoods
threatened, or who have been affected by the water and power shortages."
In Bedford, north of London, a man died after jumping into the River
Great Ouse. Witnesses saw him swim to the middle of the river before
going under. He was pulled from the water by rescuers but pronounced
dead at a hospital.
Some 350,000 people in the Gloucestershire region, the most severely
affected, remained without drinking water Tuesday, relying on hundreds
of thousands of gallons brought in by emergency workers in bottles or in
tankers. Many may have to wait a week or more for the floodwaters to
recede enough to allow pumping stations to operate.
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn told legislators some 780,000 gallons
of bottled water were being distributed daily, along with the water
being provided by tankers. He said the government would commit $48
million for recovery efforts.
Large swaths of land remained waterlogged as emergency workers tried to
pump water from affected areas and residents embarked on salvage
operations, piling sandbags against doors to keep water out.
"We wanted a riverside pub, not a pub in the river," said Stephen
Parker, who worked alongside his wife to clean up the Maybush Pub in
Newbridge, 60 miles west of London. Plates with leftover roasts still
lay on the tables where Sunday afternoon customers left quickly when the
River Thames burst its banks.
The Environment Agency, meanwhile, said some steel flood barriers
erected since the heavy rains began last week had been targeted by thieves.
"I am amazed and absolutely disgusted that anyone would try to steal
these barriers that have helped save lives and property," said agency
official John Adams.
Britain has had one of its wettest summers on record - a sharp contrast
to last summer, which was one of its driest and hottest.
Nearly five inches of rain fell in some areas on Friday alone. More rain
fell on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. While floodwaters began to recede
in Gloucester and Tewkesbury - two of the hardest-hit communities -
other places west of London on the Thames braced for rising water levels.
The Thames was expected to crest in Pangbourne, Purley and Reading area
by late Tuesday to early Wednesday. Emergency officials, however, said
they expected the levels to be lower than the worst-affected areas.
London, further down the Thames, appeared unlikely to flood. The Thames
Barrier, the world's largest moveable flood defense, can be closed to
seal off the upper river from tidal flows that could cause a swollen
river to overrun its banks.
The heaviest flooding was in Gloucestershire, about 120 miles west of
London, inundating pumping stations and cutting off drinkable water to
an estimated 350,000 people. Authorities deployed some 900 tanker trucks
in the region with emergency water rations.
County officials said some of the tankers had been vandalized amid
frustrations over the water supply.
Tewkesbury's 900-year-old Norman abbey - shown in aerial shots
surrounded by water - said services were continuing despite the floods.
Water entered the building, which dominates the town from its elevated
perch, for the first time since 1760.
The Environment Agency said the River Severn at Gloucester crested just
inches below a level that would have threatened the city center and a
power station serving 500,000 homes. The Thames crested overnight in
Oxford, but downstream in Reading the highest water was not expected
until Thursday, the agency said.
The agency said the River Severn at Gloucester crested just inches below
a level that would have threatened the city center and the Walham power
station, which serves 500,000 homes. Benn said "heroic efforts" by
firefighters, soldiers and sailors from the Royal Navy kept floodwaters
at bay.
Channel 4 News reported the power station also supplies electricity to
Government Communications Headquarters, Britain's electronic spying
nerve-center. Officials could not immediately be reached for comment.