Flood hell continues for thousands with 358 areas on alert for mayhem in wake of Storm Christoph
Flood hell continues for thousands with 358 areas on alert for more mayhem in wake of Storm Christoph – as Met Office warns of ice danger and says UK is set ‘to get MORE wintry’ with -10C plunge over weekend
- Care home residents were among those evacuated after floods in several areas across North West and Wales
- A Met Office forecaster has said, however, it is going to be ‘more wintry’ as the storm moves away to the east
- Meteorologist Craig Snell said: ‘We’re losing the rain but gaining some colder and some wintry weather too’
- A yellow weather warning for ice is also put in place along a large part of western coasts until 10am on Friday
Thousands across the country are braced for more flooding in the wake of Storm Christoph as the Met Office warned of ice danger and said the UK is set ‘to get more wintry’ with -10C over the weekend.
Care home residents were among those evacuated after floods in several areas across the North West and Wales following days of heavy rain.
A Met Office forecaster has said, however, that it is going to be ‘more wintry now’ as the storm moves away to the east.
Meteorologist Craig Snell added: ‘We’re losing the rain but gaining some colder and possibly some wintry weather too.’ A yellow weather warning for ice is in place along a large part of western coasts until 10am on Friday.
The alert – which stretches from the Scottish Highlands, down to the north west of England and into Wales, as well as covering Northern Ireland – says there is the possibility of injuries from icy conditions on ground which is already wet.
An additional yellow warning for snow and ice is in place across northern parts of Scotland until Friday lunchtime.
Workmen clearing floodwater from the village of in Northwich, Cheshire, in the aftermath of Storm Christoph on Friday morning
Council workers and environmental health workers work on clearing away water which flooded the centre of Northwich in Cheshire
Two council workers smile for a photograph as they stand in flood water before working to clear it in Northwich, Cheshire
The teams of council workers are doing their best to pump away the huge quantity of flld water after the River Weaver burst its banks in Cheshire
Flood barriers have been put up in York city centre overnight as workmen and fire services try to defend businesses from the flooding
A woman in wellington boots walks through flood water in York as she assesses the damage done to her area by the flooding
The chilly weather will continue into the weekend, when temperatures could drop to minus 10C overnight in localised parts of Scotland, and could dip as low as minus seven in parts of England, Mr Snell said.
He went on: ‘It will be feeling cold, I think that certainly that will be something that we will all be noticing it will be colder than it was to start the week.’
‘I think the main thing for most of us will be that we will see some frosty nights and with the ground wet from the rain we’ve had we may well see some icy patches,’ he later added.
One grandfather had to be taken to hospital after accidentally swallowing sewage water when his house was flooded.
Chris Spencer and his wife Marlene, both 70, were forced to flee their home in Chester on Wednesday night with the help of their family after dirty water began seeping in amid the bad weather caused by Storm Christoph.
Granddaughter Alex Roberts, who went to help her grandparents after receiving a call, said: ‘As he was trying to get out he fell over into the water and hurt his back, then he swallowed sewage water.
‘With that, he had hypothermia as well because he was so cold so he had to go to hospital and while we were trying to take him out of the water I swallowed some sewage water as well so I had to get antibiotics from the hospital too.’
Ms Roberts, 20, said she and her family, who live nearby, went round to help after receiving a call from her grandmother who was ‘crying her eyes out’ some time after 10pm.
‘It was just literal knee-deep water surrounding the whole of the houses,’ Ms Roberts said. ‘We ran in and we then figured out it was all sewage water so you can imagine the smell. Within five minutes it was at least three feet deep.’
The chilly weather will continue into the weekend, when temperatures could drop to minus 10C overnight in localised parts of Scotland, and could dip as low as minus seven in parts of England, Mr Snell said. Pictured: Northwich today
Businesses such as Holland and Barrett and Vision Express put sand bags in their doorways in a bid to keep out the flooding in Northwich, Chshire, today
The historic city of York is picture under flood water this morning, with some homes having lights on despite the deluge reaching their doorsteps
York city centre remains under flood water with paths and roads closed off to the public due to wet weather across the country
Flood defences in Bewdley in Worcestershire remain in place this morning as the River Severn could burst its banks again
Left: Water gushes out of hose pipes in York as people pump the flooding out of their buildings. Right: A flood warning sign in the city
A pub is submerged up to the first floor in York city centre on a street where most businesses have been affected by the flooding
Workmen put up flood barriers and help businesses in York this morning as people in the city try to defend their properties from the water
Mr Spencer stayed at the Countess of Chester hospital overnight before being discharged at around 7am. He and his wife are now staying with Ms Roberts and her parents.
Ms Roberts said the pair are struggling to come to terms with what happened, and added: ‘They’re not really speaking much, they’re absolutely shook.
‘My nan is very upset, she keeps crying. It’s really hard to see them like that.’
The couple, neither of whom have had Covid vaccinations, are worried they will not receive any insurance money because there is a brook near their home.
When the property was previously flooded eight years ago, Ms Roberts said, they did not receive a payout, so she has set up a crowdfunding page in an attempt to help them.
Among the items lost or damaged this time are brand new sofas, family photos and records which they have collected ‘for years and years’, while the sewage made it into their new conservatory and even their oven.
‘Pretty much everything you can think of has been destroyed,’ Ms Roberts said.
As of Thursday evening, the fundraiser – which had an initial target of £2,500 – had reached £3,500.
‘I am overwhelmed by the response,’ Ms Roberts said.
‘When I put the target at £2,500 I was thinking no-one’s ever going to give that, it’s just a target.
‘I’m getting anonymous people donating £100, a local restaurant donated £250. It’s just like, wow, people are really wanting to help and I never thought people would do that for us.’
Dozens of care home residents were among those escorted from their homes as floodwaters rose in Cheshire on Thursday.
Around 40 residents were assisted out of the Weaver Court care home in Northwich, Cheshire, by fire crews with dinghies on Thursday afternoon, as most of the town centre laid under water.
Earlier in the day, Cheshire Fire and Rescue had said it was in the process of rescuing 21 people by boat from Lea Court nursing home in the town of Warrington.
Elsewhere, people were also told to leave their homes in the Didsbury and Northenden areas of Greater Manchester, Bangor-on-Dee in North Wales and in the Skewen area of Neath, North Wales.
Meanwhile, South Wales Police said on Twitter that the body of a man had been recovered from the River Taff near Blackweir in Cardiff on Thursday, with the death being treated as unexplained.
In Wales, emergency teams were called out to protect supplies of the Oxford University and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine following flooding at Wrexham Industrial Estate.
Fire crews rescue care home residents in Northwich from rising flood water on a chaotic afternoon yesterday, pictured
Gabrielle Burns-Smith surveys the scene in her flooded home on the outskirts of Lymm in Cheshire yesterday morning
Firefighters evacuate the residents of a care home in Northwich, Cheshire, yesterday after the River Weaver burst its banks
Flooding hit parts of Hereford yesterday afternoon after Storm Christoph brought heavy rain and the River Wye burst its banks
Three severe flood warnings – signifying a threat to life – remain in place on Friday morning on the River Dee at Farndon, Bangor-on-Dee and the Lower Dee Valley near Llangollen.
As of 5am on Friday morning, there were an additional 182 flood warnings and 176 less serious flood alerts still in place in England, 13 flood warnings and 27 flood alerts in Wales and four flood alerts in Scotland.
Areas which were hit the hardest by Storm Christoph experienced less rainfall on Thursday, with the highest daily total instead being recorded in Oxfordshire.
Overall, 31mm fell in Bicester between midnight and 8pm, and the second highest total was in Aberdeenshire, where 29mm fell over the same period.
Nearly 50 vulnerable OAPs evacuated by boat
An urgent rescue operation was underway yesterday to evacuate nearly 50 vulnerable elderly people by boat after their retirement village was flooded under five feet of water.
Emergency services rushed to Weaver Court in Northwich, Cheshire, after it was left without any electricity or heating due to heavy flooding this morning. The vulnerable residents, some suffering from dementia, were trapped after their homes were submerged in more than 5ft (1.5m) of water.
Multiple fire engines rushed to the scene yesterday and a rescue boat was deployed to safely evacuate the pensioners. Around 50 residents and staff were believed to be stuck in the building. Lesley Davenport, whose 87-year-old grandma and 94-year-old granddad live at Weaver Court, said they were all ‘het up’ as they wait for their loved ones to be rescued.
Dozens of care home residents are rescued from Weaver Court Care Home in Northwich, Cheshire, this afternoon
She said: ‘They are going to be really cold – that is the main concern. There was a lady wading through the water, waist deep, just to get to the building. We are all het up – nothing seems to be getting done. I’ve been out here for a hour and a half and they just seem to be having meeting after meeting. The houseboats were evacuated yesterday and that’s when they should have evacuated Weaver Court.’
A spokesman at First Port, the development’s management company, said: ‘The safety of our residents is our utmost priority. As the development currently has no electricity, we are working with the council to safely evacuate residents to a nearby hotel. We will do all we can to support our residents, and to get the development habitable as quickly as possible.’
Neighbourhood policing inspector for Northwich Jason Murray added: ‘A decision was made earlier this morning with ourselves and our emergency service partners that it was necessary to evacuate the residents of Weaver Court for their own safety and principally because the electricity to the premises has had to be isolated because of rising water levels.’ People were taken to a leisure centre before being moved on to alternative accommodation, Inspector Murray said.
‘Thankfully the areas that saw a lot of the rain on Tuesday and Wednesday have certainly been a bit drier today,’ Mr Snell said.
Environment Secretary George Eustice chaired a Cobra meeting in response to the ongoing flooding on Thursday afternoon, but reiterated ‘the danger has not passed’.
Mr Eustice said in a statement: ‘The water levels remain high and there is the risk of possible further flooding next week so everyone needs to remain vigilant, follow the advice and sign up for flood alerts.’
He added on BBC Breakfast: ‘If you look at this latest episode, we have had around 70 homes that have been flooded and that is a real tragedy for those (people).
‘It is incredibly disruptive when people have their homes flooded but around 26,000 homes have been protected from the various flood defence assets we have had in place.
‘We have got 600 people on the ground putting up temporary barriers, using pumps in areas of Manchester where there were particular flood challenges.’
He added: ‘We are particularly monitoring the situation in Yorkshire as the water moves through those river systems and, of course, preparing as well for next week where later next week more rain is expected.’
He said around £2.5billion has been spent on flood defences over the last five years.
Boris Johnson flew into a flood-hit area of Greater Manchester in an RAF helicopter after emergency services worked through the night elsewhere to protect a factory and warehouse involved in making a Covid-19 vaccine.
The Prime Minister spoke to some of the thousands of residents forced out of their homes in Didsbury after the storm swept across the country leaving thousands of people having to be evacuated amid major flooding.
Mr Johnson, who warned yesterday that ‘there will be more to come’, made a quick dash to Didsbury just hours after the worst of the storm hit.
It comes after he was criticised in March 2020 for taking three weeks to visit flood-hit towns in the Midlands, months after being heckled in November 2019 when visiting deluged areas of the North.
The Prime Minister suggested a major tree-planting programme could help protect against flooding in the long term.
He said: ‘One idea that everybody in the Environment Agency talks about, and I believe in absolutely passionately, is planting trees on the higher ground to help absorb some of that rainfall, to help mitigate the effects of flooding.
‘This Government has a very ambitious tree-planting programme, but, in my view, we’re not going fast enough.
‘As the spring comes and we come out of the pandemic, we’re going to want to see a lot done to build in long-term resilience against flooding and against climate change, and planting trees is a big part of that.’
Mr Johnson also defended the Government’s record on funding flood defences. ‘A huge amount has been done here in Greater Manchester, another £60 million has been put in to protecting the Greater Manchester area,’ he said.
‘You can see the defences that we have in place to protect people’s homes and people’s lives. But, be in no doubt, everybody who visits a flood area, anybody who has been through a flood knows the huge psychological, emotional and financial cost of flooding to people.’
But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said there had been a repeated pattern of floods followed by an ‘inadequate response’.
He told reporters in London: ‘We need to have a long-lasting solution to this, not promises that then aren’t fulfilled.’
