Britain hit by widespread flooding, high winds
Britain hit by widespread flooding and high winds after more than a month's worth of rain fell in 48 hours
LONDON : Britain yesterday began to clear up after Storm Dennis battered the country over the weekend, leading the government's weather agency to issue a rare "danger to life" warning amid widespread flooding and high winds.
Hundreds of flood warnings remained in place, including five "severe" warnings around the River Teme in Worcestershire in western England, after more than a month's worth of rain fell in 48 hours in some parts of Britain.
Pictures circulated on social media showed the nearby River Taff bursting its banks, while rescue workers rushed to reach people trapped in their homes in Powys.
"Agencies are continuing to deal with multiple floods and landslides, and have been required to evacuate residents from houses," South Wales Police said in a statement.
"Some communities have been cut off as a result, but emergency service workers are working tirelessly to put measures in place to ensure the safety of residents. Many rescues have been carried out over the past few hours along with the evacuation of houses."
Winds of over 150kmh were recorded in Aberdaron, south Wales.
In northern England, the government deployed the army to help deal with the situation.
Environment Secretary George Eustice, visiting York, said the government had done "everything that we can do with a significant sum of money" to combat increased flooding.
"We'll never be able to protect every single household just because of the nature of climate change and the fact that these weather events are becoming more extreme," he added.
Roads and railways across Britain were badly affected by the downpours and winds, having barely recovered from a similar storm last week.
The defence ministry deployed troops in West Yorkshire, northern England, which suffered badly from flooding caused by last weekend's Storm Ciara.
"Our armed forces are always ready to support local authorities and communities whenever they need it," said defence minister Ben Wallace.
British Airways and easyJet confirmed they had grounded flights, with footage posted online showing a massive Airbus A380 jet being blown about as it attempted to land.
Earlier, two bodies were pulled from rough seas off the south England coast on Saturday as the storm barrelled in.
One of the men is assumed to have been the subject of a search triggered when an LPG tanker reported that one of its crew was unaccounted for.- AFP, REUTERS
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