A family views the aftermath of Storm Bert in an eastern suburb of London after the Atlantic storm system lashed Britain with 80-mph winds and torrential rain and snow. Met Office national severe weather warnings for flooding and high wind remained in place Monday. Photo by Tolga Akmen/EPA-EFE
At least five people were killed as Storm Bert battered Britain with 80 mph winds and torrential rain, causing widespread flooding, cutting power to thousands of homes and businesses and wreaking road, rail and air travel chaos.
With 110 flood warnings, Wales was one of the hardest hit regions, with at least one person killed — a man swept away as he walked his dog by the River Conwy. Footage circulating online showed rescuers using inflatable boats to rescue people and pets from streets and homes inundated after rivers burst their banks. Advertisement
A elderly man died after his car entered a ford in Lancashire and another man was killed after his car was hit by a falling tree in Hampshire. Two men were killed in separate road crashes in Northamptonshire and Yorkshire.
The U.K. Metrological Office said the storm system dumped more than 5 inches of rain in the 24 hours as of Monday morning.
Almost 1,200 flights out of London’s Heathrow Airport were delayed, with as many as 300 cancelled. The Great Western Railway canceled trains in Devon, some routes through Tuesday, and between London and South Wales, which saw some of the worst flooding. Advertisement
GWR services on all key routes remained suspended Monday due to flooding and fallen trees.
Engineers in Wales worked through the night Sunday to clear a landslip near Pontypool that closed the Newport to Shrewsbury line and National Rail issued dozens of cancellation and disruption alerts for services across the rest of the country.
There was anger in South Wales over what locals and their representatives said was a lack of warning and preparedness for the damage and disruption wrought by Storm Bert in which Cwnmtillery and Pontypridd were also badly hit, with streets, homes and businesses in Pontypridd pictured semi-submerged.
The BBC quoted the Rhondda Cynon Taf Town Council leader as expressing shock that the dire conditions only warranted a “yellow” weather warning, saying an “amber” warning should have been in place.
Member of Parliament for Rhondda and Ogmore Chris Bryant and Plaid Cymru Senedd member for South Wales Central, Heledd Fychan, also complained that the warnings came too late.
Bryant said people were “utterly miserable” in his constituency, which includes Pontypridd, and that he could not comprehend why more high-level alert was not put in place Saturday night
The Met Office denied the charges saying it forecast the storm well in advance and issued number of warnings. However, it pledged to carry out a comprehensive assessment of its performance. Advertisement
Wales First Minister Eluned Morgan said she was talking with the central government in Whitehall regarding emergency funds for prevention to keep pace with the worsening climate in Wales.
“The severity and frequency of these events is something we all need to be aware of,” she told the BBC. “Hundreds of millions of pounds have been put into flood defenses in Wales over the past few years,” she added.
