UK storms: Giant waves hit amid fresh flooding fears
BBC science editor David Shukman : ''The barrage of bad weather...is highly unusual''
Huge
waves have battered southern and western coasts of the UK, as
forecasters warn exposed areas could see a fresh round of flooding.
The environment secretary said seven people had died and 1,700
homes had been flooded in England due to storms and flooding in December and January.
There are currently three severe flood warnings in place in England and travel by road and rail is being hit.
In Aberystwyth, all buildings along the promenade have been evacuated after Natural Resources Wales (NRW) warned of an "exceptional" wave swell expected later.
Woman rescued
Western and southern areas have borne the brunt of the latest severe weather, with flooding leaving some villages in Somerset cut off, properties flooded in Cornwall, rivers bursting their banks in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, and residents forced from their homes in the centre of Salisbury, Wiltshire.
The Environment Agency has warned communities in Dorset, Oxfordshire, south Wiltshire, Hampshire and along the Thames to "remain prepared" for more flooding on Monday and the rest of the week.
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The latest travel disruption includes:
- Damage to railway lines caused by recent high winds and heavy rain is affecting Arriva Trains Wales services in many Welsh regions
- Buses are replacing trains on Northern Rail services between Carlisle and Workington, with disruption expected to last up to a week
- Island Line services on the Isle of Wight are suspended until further notice because of severe flooding in the Ryde area
- A recent landslip caused by poor weather means buses are replacing Southern trains between Horsham and Dorking
- The Rail Delivery Group, which speaks on behalf of the rail industry, said despite localised flooding and weather damage, 96% of scheduled services were operating
- Major roads in areas including North Ayrshire, Pembrokeshire, Oxfordshire, West Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Hampshire, Norfolk, Wiltshire, Isle of Wight, Somerset, Dorset and Devon are closed because of flooding
A boat wreck has been exposed in Newquay harbour
- The search for Harry Martin, 18, missing since going out to take pictures of stormy seas in Devon, has continued for a fourth day
- A woman and her dog stranded in a house on the Somerset Levels for 13 days have been rescued by boat
- A West Sussex beach has been cordoned off after strong tides damaged recently completed sea defences
- High tides and strong winds caused difficult driving conditions in Northern Ireland, but Belfast escaped major flooding
- The Thames Barrier was closed for the ninth tide in a row but has now reopened
- The harbour master at Newquay, Cornwall, said so much sand had been lost from the harbour that it had exposed a boat wreck never seen before. Cornwall Council says the storm has caused £1.5m of damage so far
- The Thames Coastguard says "about nine" World War Two explosives have washed on to an Essex beach following the storms
There are also scores of lower-level flood warnings and alerts in force in England and Wales, as well as several in Scotland.
The south and west coasts would see "colossal waves" like these at Porthcawl, near Bridgend, say forecasters
Waves crashed on to the promenade in Blackpool
Some parts of England - including Bury in West Sussex - are already under water, with more flooding expected
One woman was rescued after 13 days surrounded by floodwater on the Somerset Levels
There was flooding in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, as rivers burst their banks
Belfast escaped major flooding at high tide, despite residents being prepared for the worst
Drivers in many parts of the UK, including the village of Buscot Wick, near Oxford, have had to take extra precautions
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Only once - last year - has it ever been this badly affected. It is cut off by flooding on all sides.
The island of reclaimed land - a tiny bump in the flat Somerset levels - is home to 200.
David and Tracey Bradley are using their canoe to make the mile-long paddle from their house to Huish Episcopi where they can pick up supplies.
They say they have been unable to drive in or out since Friday.
The village pulls together when it gets cut off - but people are beginning to run out of fresh food.
It will take two weeks for the water to clear, they say. Unless it rains more.
'Island of 200'
Muchelney is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Its records go back hundreds of years.Only once - last year - has it ever been this badly affected. It is cut off by flooding on all sides.
The island of reclaimed land - a tiny bump in the flat Somerset levels - is home to 200.
David and Tracey Bradley are using their canoe to make the mile-long paddle from their house to Huish Episcopi where they can pick up supplies.
They say they have been unable to drive in or out since Friday.
The village pulls together when it gets cut off - but people are beginning to run out of fresh food.
It will take two weeks for the water to clear, they say. Unless it rains more.
Environment Secretary Owen
Paterson chaired a Cobra emergency meeting to ensure agencies are ready
to respond, and made a statement to the Commons on the impact of the bad
weather.
Mr Paterson told MPs there was "a risk of groundwater
flooding in Dorset and Wiltshire for some time to come and we need to
remain vigilant"."Approximately 1,700 properties have been flooded in England so far, with Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset particularly affected, although there were also impacts in the Midlands and the North West," he said.
There had also been flooding in Northern Ireland and Scotland and 140 properties in Wales flooded, he said.
Mr Paterson said the country's electricity network operators deserved credit for reconnecting "unprecedented" number of people cut-off, but added there were "lessons to be learned about how customers are supported and informed during power cuts".
He again defended spending on flood defences, following criticism over the weekend, saying the government was spending "more than ever before".
Prof David Balmforth of the Institution of Civil Engineers told the BBC: "I don't think we've woken up to the increased threat of flooding in the future due to climate change.
"What we're seeing today as a
rare event is likely to become much more frequent in the future and
therefore it's important that we do continue to invest in flood
defences."
Exams scheduled for this week have been postponed until next week, she said, and students who have not yet returned to the university are being urged to stay away until the middle of the week.
The village of Muchelney, on the Somerset Levels, has been cut off for about four days.
Residents David and Tracey Bradley said they were making daily trips in their canoe to fetch essential supplies.
"It's pretty desolate really, especially for the elderly and the children," said Mrs Bradley.
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