Battered Britain faces new winter storm
Uprooted trees near Fishguard, West Wales
AFP, London :
Yet another Atlantic storm was barreling towards Britain on Friday, threatening to dump a month’s worth of rainfall on communities already struggling to cope with the wettest winter for 250 years.
The country’s Met Office said a “multi-pronged attack” of wind, rain and snow would sweep across the country after making landfall in southwest England early Friday.
The heavy rain could lead to another 1,000 houses being evacuated, the Environment Agency told the Daily Telegraph, with downpours of up to 40 millimetres (1.6 inches) forecast to fall in just six hours.
The agency warned of huge waves on England’s south coast as high tides combine with 80 miles per hour (128 kilometres per hour) winds.
The storm comes two days after hurricane-force gales tore through the country leaving one person dead and tens of thousands without power.
The swollen River Thames was expected to reach its highest level for 60 years at the weekend, promising fresh misery for flooded towns west of London where the military is providing relief.
Energy companies on Thursday worked to get power back to more than 56,000 people still left without electricity, having restored supplies to more than 400,000 hit by outages during Wednesday’s storm.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he would seek financial aid from the European Union to cope with the floods, despite his promises to renegotiate London’s relationship with Brussels and hold a referendum.
Yet another Atlantic storm was barreling towards Britain on Friday, threatening to dump a month’s worth of rainfall on communities already struggling to cope with the wettest winter for 250 years.
The country’s Met Office said a “multi-pronged attack” of wind, rain and snow would sweep across the country after making landfall in southwest England early Friday.
The heavy rain could lead to another 1,000 houses being evacuated, the Environment Agency told the Daily Telegraph, with downpours of up to 40 millimetres (1.6 inches) forecast to fall in just six hours.
The agency warned of huge waves on England’s south coast as high tides combine with 80 miles per hour (128 kilometres per hour) winds.
The storm comes two days after hurricane-force gales tore through the country leaving one person dead and tens of thousands without power.
The swollen River Thames was expected to reach its highest level for 60 years at the weekend, promising fresh misery for flooded towns west of London where the military is providing relief.
Energy companies on Thursday worked to get power back to more than 56,000 people still left without electricity, having restored supplies to more than 400,000 hit by outages during Wednesday’s storm.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he would seek financial aid from the European Union to cope with the floods, despite his promises to renegotiate London’s relationship with Brussels and hold a referendum.