Warning Of More Storms Across Britain After Flash Flooding Hits Cornish Village

Warning Of More Storms Across Britain After Flash Flooding Hits Cornish Village

Thunderstorms are continuing to affect parts of Britain, with lightning and heavy downpours expected to hit both the morning and evening rush hours.

Torrential rain could cause some localised flooding, and people are being warned of the risk of disruption to power networks from lightning strikes.

A yellow weather warning is in place right through the day for large swathes of England and Wales, with the Met Office predicting a month's worth of rain could fall in some places in a matter of hours.

The intense conditions caused flash flooding in a coastal village in Cornwall on Tuesday, with some 50 properties affected and several people having to be rescued from their homes.

A council spokesman confirmed some properties in Coverack and one of the roads suffered structural damage and are due to be inspected by structural engineers.

Two people were rescued by a coastguard helicopter, and one witness described the flooding as "quite horrendous".

A meeting for residents, attended by council officers, will be held at a local hotel later.

Commuters in the Midlands and east of England could be caught up in downpours this morning, while those in north-east Wales and the North West will bear the brunt this afternoon, Steven Keates from the Met Office said.

"This morning it's probably going to be parts of the Midlands and eastern England that see potential for some heavy rain, some thunderstorms, and then a bit of a lull," he said.

"Then just in time for the evening rush hour, a different location, this time across parts of northern England, north-west England in particular by the looks of it, will see the worst of the weather in places."

He said the nature of the thunderstorms would be "hit and miss" and that the showers should move through the country "relatively quickly".

After a warm night, temperatures are expected to remain high on Wednesday for parts of eastern England where the mercury could rise to the low 30s, Mr Keates added.

Cambridgeshire police said the adverse weather conditions have caused problems with its non-emergency 101 service.

The force tweeted: "We are experiencing problems with the 101 lines due to the weather, 999 lines are ok you can also contact us via the website if you need us."

Water had to be pumped out of a number of properties in Tunbridge Wells, the fire service said, after it received more than 60 calls to the 999 line within one hour.

Crews from Kent Fire and Rescue Service attended but, despite two of the calls stating that people were trapped inside properties, no rescues were needed.

Residents and business owners affected by the flooding in Coverack have been told council reserves will be used to help repair the damage.

Adam Paynter, leader of Cornwall Council, told BBC Radio Cornwall: "With things like this, money won't be a problem - we do have reserves we can use for this type of incident."

Speaking from the west Cornwall village, he added: "It's been absolutely unbelievable to see. I think it's going to take a little while to get this sorted out and tidied up but obviously the main thing is that nobody's been injured and everybody is okay in the village.

"The council and the emergency services have done a great job, they've been here all night to ensure that everybody is safe and they are doing what they can to make sure everything can get back to normal as soon as possible."

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said crews remained in Coverack on Wednesday morning.

"Cornwall Fire and Rescue remains in attendance on scene, working with the community to salvage," a spokeswoman said.

"Reliefs are being arranged for crews on scene.

"It is expected that the fire service will remain in attendance until midday, assisting the community."

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