Warnings of further flood chaos on way
Published Date:
22 July 2007
SCOTLAND is predicted to escape the torrential rain and floods which have brought chaos to parts of England and Wales.
Helicopter and boat crews yesterday rescued hundreds of people trapped after storms whipped through the south, flooding towns and villages, including Shakespeare's birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon.
Stranded motorists slept overnight in cars
and Scots drivers planning on heading south of the Border are being warned to check conditions before they travel.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown was yesterday liaising with Cabinet colleagues to assess the government's response to the crisis, which left many thousands affected by flooding. The Association of British Insurers estimated damage could run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
Met Office meteorologist Ian Robinson last night predicted the rains would sweep into Scotland by this morning. "The heaviest rain that we will see in Scotland will probably be in the Southern Uplands and across Aberdeenshire and the Grampians," he said.
"But Scotland looks set to escape the worst and we are not expecting to see any repeat of the major problems that we saw in England and Wales."
Robinson predicted that, at worst, one inch of rain would fall over the Grampians and Southern Uplands today - five times less than the amount which fell in the worst-affected parts of England within 24 hours between Friday and yesterday.
The bleak conditions are predicted to continue throughout the week, with the brief exception of Tuesday, which is expected to be dry across the UK.
Sixteen flood warnings are currently in place in England - 13 in the Midlands and three in the East Anglia region.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said it had not issued any flood warnings and was not expecting to do so.
Baroness Young, chief executive of the UK Environment Agency, warned that more floods could be on the way in England.
She said: "The rivers are over-topping the flood defences in places and some of the slower-rising rivers like the Severn, the Thames and the Great Ouse will only start to respond as all the water runs into them from the tributaries. They are coming up rapidly, so we could see further flooding even in areas where it is no longer raining."
Young also claimed the extreme rainfall may have been the worst experienced in England for 200 years and suggested climate change may be to blame.
The Highways Agency confirmed that the M5 at Worcester reopened yesterday, but said that parts of the M50 which runs between Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire remained closed.
"We are advising drivers planning to travel to the affected areas to check their route is clear before they set off and to leave extra time for their journeys until conditions return to normal," said spokeswoman Eva Perkins.
Heathrow Airport was forced to cancel 141 flights across the country on Friday, while Luton Airport was described as "virtually cut off" by floodwaters at one point.
But a spokesman for airports operator BAA said all flights from its London airports, including those to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, were now running normally.
Rail services from Scotland to London are also unaffected.
The full article contains 526 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
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Last Updated:
21 July 2007 10:47 PM
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Source:
Scotland On Sunday
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Location:
Scotland
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Related Topics:
Weather
