Following heavy rain, major rivers across the United Kingdom overflowed on Friday, prompting the government to issue more than 300 flood warnings, travel companies to announce significant disruption, and around 1,000 homes to be damaged.
A series of storms in recent weeks resulted in sustained rainfall that began on Thursday and swiftly led already-swollen rivers and canals across England and Wales to burst their banks.
The storms have also caused flooding in other parts of Europe in recent days.
The River Trent in central England flooded, prompting the local authority to declare a major incident. London’s fire service said it had to escort around 50 people to safety late on Thursday after a canal in the east of the capital overflowed.
Flood control director at the Environment Agency, Caroline Douglass, stated, “We have woken up to, as many people will see, a very wet situation across the country.”
Approximately 1,000 homes have flooded so far, according to Douglass. Great Western Railways announced the closure of its lines in three southern regions of the nation. The worst-affected districts’ roads were closed as well.
More rain was forecast for Friday, albeit not at the same intensity as seen overnight, with drier weather expected to follow.
