Due to the passage of Storm Bert, strong winds and heavy rain hit Great Britain between Saturday 23 and Monday 25 November.
Ireland and the United Kingdom, and particularly Wales, were strongly affected by Storm Bert, which occurred this Saturday and which continues to threaten the country this Tuesday, November 26. Strong winds, rain and heavy snowfall disrupted transport and deprived tens of thousands of homes of electricity.
Welsh Prime Minister Eluned Morgan has deplored the “absolutely devastating” impact of flooding in South Wales, where 80% of November’s monthly rainfall fell in the space of 48 hours. Between 200 and 300 houses and buildings were flooded in the Rhondda Cynon Taf district.
A body was found near the River Conwy, where searches were taking place after the disappearance on Saturday of a 75-year-old man out walking his dog, Welsh police said. He has not yet been formally identified.
At least three deaths were recorded on Saturday on the roads of Great Britain, without being able at this stage to be linked with certainty to the passage of the storm, including that of a sixty-year-old in the Hampshire region (south) after the fall of a branch on his car.
The population denounces insufficient warnings
The images are stunning. Rivers overflow their banks, submerging streets and vehicles. In England, in Northampton, a campsite is under water. This Tuesday at 1:15 p.m. local time (2:15 p.m. Paris time), a serious flood alert was still in effect in this region.
Around 300 flights to and from London Heathrow Airport were canceled over the weekend, with almost 1,200 flights delayed. Some train operators canceled services on Monday due to flooded lines, the BBC reports.
The storm caused wind gusts of up to 110km/h, and some parks and tourist attractions in London were closed on Sunday as a precaution.
Criticism has been raised from the population: residents denounce a lack of preparation and insufficient warnings. The British national weather service, Met Office, defended itself in a statement saying that “the total rainfall observed was broadly in line with forecasts and severe weather warnings issued in advance”.
Further heavy rain expected tonight
If Storm Bert subsides, the Environment Agency has called on “citizens to remain vigilant about the consequences of flooding” and stresses that “further river flooding” is expected in parts of England.
This Monday, the Met Office announced that a “new heavy rain warning has been issued for the north-west of Scotland”. Storm Bert, which is moving away this Tuesday, however, risks being replaced overnight by a “low pressure area” in the south of the United Kingdom, leading to heavy rain in certain places.
“On Tuesday evening we will see showers spreading towards the north-east, which could be heavy at times. We expect this rainfall to be heaviest in the south/southeast of England,” said Mike Silverstone , deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office also pointing out the possibility of “strong winds”. New weather alerts could thus be issued.
Juliette Brossault with AFP
