Man dies with his dog after car becomes submerged in British floods
Man dies with his dog after car becomes submerged in British floods
Posted: May 01, 2012 5:36 AM AST Updated: May 01, 2012 5:36 AM AST
Source: NewsCoreCOMPTON, England -- As heavy rain caused floods across Britain on Monday, a man and his dog drowned when the car they were traveling in became submerged in a deep, fast-flowing waterway at Compton, 60 miles (96km) west of London.
On the last day of the UK's wettest April on record, the 52-year-old man's car became completely submerged at around 9:15am local time when a five-foot (1.5m) wall of water rushed over it and swept it away, The (London) Times reported.
A female passenger in the car managed to free herself and swim to safety, but the man stayed with his dog.
The man, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Britain's Meteorological Office released figures Monday showing that an average of 4.8 inches (121.8mm) of rainfall fell up until April 29, beating the previous record of 4.74 inches (120.3mm) set in 2000.
And there was a risk the wet weather would continue into May, with an Environment Agency spokeswoman telling the Times that areas in southern England should be on high ***** for flooding Tuesday.
"After a very wet weekend conditions have generally improved [Monday], but further rain forecast for [Monday night] means that there is still a risk of flooding across many parts of England and Wales," the spokeswoman said.
"River flows are high after this weekend's rainfall and we are keeping a close watch on river levels as well as checking defences and clearing any potential blockages to reduce the risk of flooding."
ÑÏ: Man dies with his dog after car becomes submerged in British floods
ÑÏ: Man dies with his dog after car becomes submerged in British floods
A MAN died today after his car became completely submerged in water as he tried to cross a ford.
The tragedy happened as the Met Office revealed this month is the UK’s wettest April in records dating back more than 100 years to 1910.
Police officers were called to a ford in Compton Wood, Hampshire, after they received reports of a stuck vehicle.
A woman was able to escape from the car but the man, who has not been named, had to be recovered and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The ford where the car got stuck is close to Environment Minister Richard Benyon’s Wasing estate.
Fresh flooding concerns have been raised as parts of England look set to be hit with more heavy rain tonight.
After a weekend of downpours and winds of up to 70mph in south-west England and Wales, which brought down trees, left thousands of homes without power and disrupted rail services, the Environment Agency said the situation was improving today.
While flood waters had swept into low-lying fields and some roads, only around 20 properties had flooded across the country.
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Flooded ... torrential rain causes floods in Tewkesbury which was hit badly in 2007
Barcroft Media
Unfinished flood defences in Upton-on-Severn, which had to be shored up over the weekend, had kept water out and Tewkesbury, badly hit during the 2007 floods, had experienced some localised flooding but nothing unusual for the area, the Environment Agency said. However, 37 flood warnings and almost 140 less serious flood *****s are still in place today for England and Wales, with most of the warnings concentrated in the South West.
The Environment Agency said southern England looked set to receive another 0.8in to 1.2in (20mm to 30mm) of rain overnight, raising concerns over how already-saturated river catchments would cope with the latest downpours.
Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, which was devastated by flooding in July 2007, is on ***** with the Environment Agency setting up an incident room there, along with two others in the Midlands and another in the Wessex area.
A spokeswoman said: “It’s not unusual to experience heavy downpours and some flooding at this time of year, but we’re continuing to monitor the forecast and rainfall particularly in areas along the rivers Severn, Teme and Avon, including Worcestershire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire."
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Localised flooding ...a street in Tewkesbury is already under water
Ian Lock, landlord of the Boat Inn at Ashleworth, which is south of Tewkesbury next to the River Severn, said the water was “worryingly high”.
He said: “If we’d had a high tide on Saturday night we would have had trouble - thankfully we didn’t - just another three or four feet and we would have had problems.
“We still could flood, the worry is if other towns further up the river put their flood defences up the water will come down here and we’ll suffer.”
Elsewhere, a police van lay crushed under a fallen tree as high winds and torrential rain spread chaos yesterday, with experts warning the downpour will continue into MAY.
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Crushed ... police van lies under a huge fallen tree in Odiham, Hants
GoffPhotos.com
Gusts of up to 71mph battered many parts of the country while further downpours heaped more misery on already-soaked Brits.
Around 10,000 homes were left without power in South Wales and the West Midlands, including The Mumbles where the huge wind speed was recorded.
A further 2,000 homes were in a similar situation in the South West, Western Power said.
Up to TWO inches of rain was forecast to drench the UK as the wettest April in years continued.
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Sinking feeling ... a car starts to be consumed by flood water
The month has seen “well above” average rainfall, with 97mm recorded up to April 25 - that's already 140 per cent of the long-term monthly average and the ninth-highest total for any April.
The Met Office's Dan Williams said: "The last few days have continued to be very rainy in many parts. The wettest-ever April was in 2000 with a monthly total 120.3mm of rain averaged across the UK.
And in Odiham, Hampshire nature’s destructive power was clear as huge branches from the felled tree lay across the shattered British Transport Police vehicle. It was later reported that the driver was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Weathermen warned the misery was due to continue.
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High and dry ... The Lowther pub in York is surrouned by flood water
Residents of the south east could bask in temperatures of up to 19 degrees Centigrade today, but only until more heavy rain storms in from France.
Met Office forecaster Tom Morgan said: “There is more rain to come. At the moment, the wettest areas are in parts of the West Midlands, eastern Wales and south-west England.
“We have a yellow warning out for the east and west, which warns the public to be aware of the risks and disruption.
“Winds have been around 50 to 60mph. We have already seen gusts of 50mph in quite a few places in south west England; south west Cornwall has seen around 60mph while London is a high 40mph.
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Crushing ... a family car is flattened in Dulwich, south London
“But the winds will ease across the south east and temperatures could reach 18 or 19 degrees. It will also dry up in London today.
“But into tomorrow evening thundery rain will push up from France into the South and Tuesday will again see heavy outbreaks of rain which will get to 20 or 30mm in most areas.”
In London scaffolding was torn from a building that celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was said to be renovating.
There were no injuries as the structure crashed to the ground in Notting Hill Gate at three in the morning.
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Wet conditions ... a driver braves floods in Essex
Stephen Huntley
Shoppers ****tered under umbrellas as they braved the torrential conditions along London’s busiest shopping thoroughfare – Oxford Street.
The M48 Severn Bridge was also closed in both directions to high-sided vehicles this morning because of strong winds.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service was “busy” throughout the night across both counties with numerous calls reporting trees and electrical cables either down in the road or affecting people’s properties.
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Crashing down ... scaffolding litters a road in West London
High winds across Devon resulted in treacherous driving conditions with surface water and other debris, including a large green road sign blown onto the carriageway of the A38 at Chudleigh Knighton.
Over 24 hours police in Gloucestershire received more than 60 reports of trees down and localised flooding, and officers were called to help with a large tree that came down on the A417 near Cirencester.
In Dorset, high winds and lashing rain affected not only people, but animals too, with Dartmoor Zoo closing today “for the reasons of safety and animal welfare”.
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Torrential downpours ... shoppers on London's Oxford Street ****ter under umbrellas
And Essex Police said a section of the A12 near Chelmsford was closed amid concerns that two crashes were due to flooding.
Coastguards were called to rescue boats which had been blown onto shore by the gale-force winds battering the south of England.
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Sign of the times ... drivers are informed pub in Paignton remains open
Torbay News Agency
Yachts and small passenger vessels were reported to have broken free of their moorings and washed up on land as winds of up to 60mph reaped havoc.
The Coastguard Agency also dealt with dozens of unattended moored boats which had sunk after filling up with rain water overnight.
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Grim weather ... gent uses newspaper to ****ter from pouring rain
A spokesman said the torrential driving rain and high winds had caused widespread destruction at harbours on the south coast.
Boats had been ripped from their moorings, blown upside down onto land or had sunk.
Essex Police said a section of the A12 near Chelmsford was closed amid concerns that two crashes this morning were due to flooding.
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Mud bath ... competitor in the Maldon Mud Race
And yet, conditions were perfect for the annual Maldon Mud Race, in Maldon, Essex.
It saw hardy competitors race around a course on the banks of the river Blackwater.
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