The British floods

Expect no let-up in severe weather, UK forecasters warn

Around 5,000 military personnel committed to flood relief work as violent storms set to batter southern coast over weekend

The Guardian ,

14 February, 2014

Violent storms will batter cliffs and promenades along the south coast this weekend, with tidal surges and gale-force winds set to cause more flooding for days to come.

Forecasters warned there would be no let-up in the severe weather as defence chiefs committed 5,000 military personnel to the flood relief mission.

More than 16,000 homes were left without power in north Wales as a result of the high winds, which uprooted trees and wreaked havoc on electricity networks.

"The debris that flew around in north Wales was quite incredible and the impact it had on the electricity networks has resulted in a level of devastation that I don't think has ever been seen in the area, certainly not for decades," said Tony Glover, of the Energy Networks Association.

A man died in hospital on Friday night after being hit by a falling tree in his garden in Gwynedd during Wednesday's storm.

The Environment Agency said the misery would continue into next week. By late Friday it had issued 23 severe flood warnings – meaning there is a threat to life – along the Thames, the Severn at Gloucester, on the Somerset Levels and on the south coast, along with hundreds more flood warnings and alerts across England and Wales.

Forecasters said that high sea levels and waves up to 10 metres (33ft) high created a high risk of flooding to parts of the Dorset coast this weekend, particularly Christchurch, Chiswell and Preston beach.

Major General Patrick Sanders, assistant chief of defence staff, told a Whitehall briefing that 2,200 sailors, soldiers and RAF crews were involved in the relief effort and a further 3,000 military personnel were on standby. "This is not our day job. Our day job looks more like Afghanistan, but our role is to defend the country from any threats and that includes weather as well," he said.

The RAF had earlier deployed a Tornado reconnaissance jet to capture detailed images of the flood-ravaged Thames Valley, where more than 1,000 homes were evacuated and 11 military helicopters were ready to be called into action. The Thames has risen to its highest levels in 60 years, forecasters say, with communities in Windsor, Maidenhead, parts of Surrey, Buckinghamshire, west Berkshire and Reading at risk from "significant flooding" in the coming days.

The exceptional weather has prompted the Environment Agency to pause its controversial redundancy programme – the subject of heated exchanges between David Cameron and Ed Miliband during prime minister's questions – because it was "quite rightly prioritising incident response".

The prime minister said on Friday that the government was "fighting on every front to help people". He said: "We are making sure that today, before the next level of the Thames over the weekend, we do everything we can to protect more homes and protect more communities."

"Of course I am very sorry for any way that people have suffered. What we have tried to do is stand up the emergency response arrangements as quickly as we could," he added.

UK Floods: Oxford under water

http://www.airexperiences.co.uk/aerial-photography/uk-floods-oxford-water/

Flood levels

(Photo taken yesterday, 219 years later)

'On the 12th of February 1795 the flood rose to the lower edge'

More pics: bit.ly/MeQbfb

Stunning UK Helicopter Aerial Fly Over - Flooded Thames Feb 11, 2014

'Weather event' as rain and seas lash Cornwall

Our reporter Paul Mason is in Porthleven where homeowners are at risk of flooding from both the raging sea and over-flowing rivers

Woman crushed to death by falling masonry in high winds

the Times,

14 February, 2013

A woman was killed and a man was injured when a building collapsed on to a car as high winds thrashed through Central London last night.

Police confirmed that the woman died at the scene but that the man, in his mid-20s, was taken to hospital only “as a precaution” after the Skoda Octavia, which was parked outside a Lebanese restaurant opposite Holborn Underground Station, was crushed by falling debris as winds in London reached 60mph.