Firefighters rescued 25 people who were trapped in their cars by floodwater last night as the country was battered by severe storms last night.
Britain is being hit by travel chaos today because of the bad weather as thousands of people face a race against time to get home in time for Christmas.
On the roads, many major routes were flooded or blocked by fallen trees, with Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Cornwall among the affected counties.
Train companies across southern England, including South West Trains, had cancelled services this morning after 160 trees came down on the lines.
Electricity companies said 100,000 homes across southern England were waking up this morning power. Engineers are working 'flat out' to get supplies up and running again in time for Christmas.
Weather chaos: A tree crashed into a house and car in Poole, Dorset, last night as the country was hit by a severe storm
Travel chaos: A car drives through floodwater on a road in Uckfield, East Sussex, this morning as the country is hit by travel disruption on Christmas Eve
Floodwater: Drivers go through a large puddle in Uckfield, East Sussex, this morning, as the country faces a day of disruption on the roads
Christmas flooding: Water pours through a wall near Shepton Mallet, in Somerset, after a night of high winds and heavy rain which has left 100,000 homes without power
Travel disruption: A country lane in Shepton Mallet, near Somerset, is blocked this morning after a tree came down overnight
Did you witness the rescues? Send in your pictures of the incident or the weather to mailonlinepictures@dailymail.co.uk
In Dorset, firefighters rescued 25 people in Sturminster, Blandford, Shaftesbury, Sherborne and Wimborne. The London Fire Brigade said they had 853 call outs last night - which is five times higher than the normal number.
The Environment Agency has issued 284 flood alerts and 166 flood warnings across England and Wales. There were also hurricance-force winds of 92mph in the Scottish Highlands.
A ferry which left Portsmouth for Bilbao on Sunday night was forced to dock this morning 600 miles away from its destination.
The passengers were forced to get off in Brest, northern France, at 8am this morning 36 hours after they left England - and still 600 miles away from their destination in northern Spain.
Anger: Catriona Koris was supposed to be going from Portsmouth to Bilbao, Spain, by ferry but she was left stranded in Brest, northern France with a long drive on to her destination
The ferry left Portsmouth at 10.30pm on Sunday night, docked briefly at Plymouth as scheduled and was supposed to reach northern Spain this morning.
However, because of severe weather it was forced to take shelter in the Bay of Biscay before docking in Brittany at 8am today.
Passenger Catriona Koris, who was going to visit her parents-in-law in Portugal, told the BBC last night: ‘They couldn’t get a port to take the ferry in.
‘At one point my chair slid from one side of the boat to the other. We have had injured people airlifted to safety. We have had helicopters coming down.
‘The gentleman next to us was airlifted on a spinal board and neck brace.’
‘The gentleman next to us was airlifted on a spinal board and neck brace.’
This morning she Tweeted: 'Thx 4 for abandoning us xmas eve, nth France, no refund, no ferries to UK, no-where to stay, 24hr drive from destination.'
Passengers were left 'in limbo' at Gatwick airport's North Terminal as a power outage added to the travel misery felt across the country.
Those who arrived at the terminal for early morning flights were grounded as they tried to get away for Christmas, while the Gatwick Express train service was also cancelled.
Storm: A beach hut is destroyed by the rain and high winds in Brighton as the country was hit by severe weather
The chaos was compounded by a lack of information and the closure of toilets, coffee shops, restaurants and other facilities due to the power cut, passengers complained.
Graziella Vella, a six-months-pregnant make-up artist from Kilburn in north west London, was due to fly to Malta to spend Christmas with her family.
The 37-year-old said: 'I am fuming and absolutely desperate - there has been no information at all and we can't make alternative plans.
'We're just hanging in limbo... at least if they said 'Nothing is going to happen, come back tomorrow', but there is no information of any kind.
'It is absolutely choc-a-bloc and in the check-in room upstairs there are 50 people queuing for the one toilet that is working.'
Train passengers in Taunton, Somerset, were left stranded on a train all night because of flooding on the line. Around 100 passengers were due to be taken on to their destinations in taxis this morning.
In Shrewsbury, Shropshire, a woman died and a man was seriously hurt in a crash which happened in 'difficult weather conditions', the West Midlands Ambulance Service said.
'Weather conditions at the time were very difficult. On arrival, crews found three cars at the scene.
Firefighters were undertaking life support on a woman in one of the cars. Sadly despite all efforts, it was not possible to save her and she was confirmed dead at the scene. A man from the same car was assessed but was uninjured.
Wet weather: Cars make their way through a large puddle near Bath, Somerset, this morning after a night of heavy rain
Travel chaos: A van is trapped by a fallen tree in East Sussex this morning after strong winds and heavy rain battered Britain overnight
'A man in his 30s from a second car was trapped for over half an hour. He had suffered facial, hip and leg injuries. A woman in the third car was uninjured.'
Five teenagers were also injured in a separate incident after their car rolled over in 'wet and windy' weather conditions north of Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
On the roads, the M48 Severn crossing was closed. Many roads were affected by flooding or fallen trees, including sections of the M25, the M5 In Gloucestershire, the A20 in Sidcup in south east London, the A22 in West Sussex, and the A25 in Surrey.
Among sections of roads closed due to fallen trees were the A286 in Grayswood in Surrey, the A287 in Haslemere in Surrey and the A303 in Chicklade in Wiltshire, where power cables were also blocking the road.
South West Trains is not running any trains until 10am to allow for safety checks after 160 trees came down on lines across the country.
A spokesman for Network Rail said that the majority of the trees had fallen on lines going in to London Waterloo, although a few had come down on the West Coast main line and in Scotland.
A spokesman for the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance said: 'The past 24 hours have been very difficult for our customers and we are sorry they have faced significant disruption.
'It has also been a tough time for our frontline teams across the network who have been working extremely hard in difficult conditions to keep trains running.'
The giant snowglobe around the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus popped during Monday's storm
The Eros snowglobe is popular with tourists, but its bubble has now burst
Southern and Southeastern trains have suspended services until further notice while obstructions and routes are cleared, which it expects to have completed later this morning.
There are no rail services in and out of Gatwick, the airport said, and First Capital Connect said Thameslink services would not run before 8am, with no replacement buses. The Stansted Express is also suspended.
Other operators, including First Great Western, Chiltern and East Midlands trains expect to run a normal service today, according to National Rail Enquiries, though some services may be delayed due to speed restrictions.
Some companies, including Chiltern, are allowing train tickets for travel yesterday to be used today.
Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations at Network Rail said: 'We've had engineers out throughout the night dealing with the impact of the storm, clearing trees and debris.
'The main routes to the North from Euston and King's Cross, to the West via Paddington and to the East via Liverpool Street are clear and services will run later this morning.
'However, in the South the impact of the storm has been greater than that of St Jude's a few weeks ago and the railway has suffered flooding and dozens of trees have fallen on the tracks.
'Our engineers need daylight to assess further potential damage and our priority has to be to make the lines safe before we reopen. Services will begin once this is secured.
Polystyrene balls from the Eros snowglobe litter the pavement in Piccadilly Circus
The membrane around Eros wasn't strong enough to withstand the gale-force winds
'We would ask passengers for their patience whilst we carry out these checks and to check with their train operator before setting off.'
In Northern Ireland, winds gusted up to 80mph on the north and east coasts, with police warning motorists of snow and black ice on some roads, especially south Tyrone and between Coleraine and Garvagh, Co Londonderry.
The Foyle Bridge in Derry city was closed to all high-sided vehicles, with a 30mph speed limit
Ferry services between Scotland and Northern Ireland were severely disrupted, with sailings from Cairnryan suspended until early afternoon.
The deep area of low pressure was expected to move away northwards during Christmas Day, with severe gales across the far north slowly easing.
But gales were likely to increase on Boxing Day, peaking during Friday.
But gales were likely to increase on Boxing Day, peaking during Friday.
The Energy Networks Association (ENA), which represents power companies across the UK, said 100,000 homes are without power, mainly in the south of England.
Kent, Surrey and Sussex are the worst-affected areas, while an ENA spokesman said engineers are facing 'very difficult and challenging conditions' as they work to reconnect homes.
Workers clean up and fold away the polystyrene after the membrane shattered
Breach: The river Yealm in Yealmpton, Plymouth, broke through a wall and flowed into Ford Road
UK Power Networks, which delivers power to eight million customers across the South East, East of England and London, said nearly 70,000 homes it supplies are without power.
They include 28,530 homes in Kent, 17,230 in Surrey, 11,975 in Sussex, 350 in Bedfordshire, 700 in Buckinghamshire, 1,590 in Cambridgeshire, 1,800 in Essex, 400 in Hertfordshire, 3,160 in Norfolk and 3,380 in Suffolk.
Meanwhile, London Fire Brigade said they took 853 calls between 8pm last night and 7am today - five times higher than normal.
The Port of Dover has reopened after being closed for the night because of winds of more than 50 knots, a spokesman said.
Gales are likely to increase on Boxing Day, peaking during Friday.
Miserable conditions: A queue of cars snakes around the M25 at Junction 16 in Buckinghamshire last night as many try desperately to get home for Christmas
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk @jexinuyo
No comments:
Post a Comment