London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Flash flooding caused schools to shut down and disrupted trains after some areas dropped a fortnight’s worth of rain in an hour.
An amber weather caution covering parts of southern and central England including Oxford, Bristol, and Northampton is in place until 9 pm on Monday. Schools across Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire, Warwickshire, and Hertfordshire were pushed to shut, while several rail lanes were disrupted.
Which rail services are disrupted due to heavy rain?
Southeastern Railway expressed that only “a very limited service” would run from Hastings, East Sussex, towards London because of heavy rain overflowing the railway at Wadhurst. Other rail services reporting weather-related trouble included Great Northern, Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink.
There was no service on the Bakerloo Line between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone, on the District Line between Turnham Green and Richmond, and on the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge.
The London Overground was also stopped between South Acton and Richmond and Euston and Watford Junction. Also in London, the Carabao Cup football match between AFC Wimbledon and Newcastle, due to be played, was delayed after the downpours caused flooding at Wimbledon’s stadium.
What precautions should residents take during the storm?
The Environment Agency cautioned that “persistent heavy rain and thunderstorms” could disrupt travel and flood property across the nation. The Met Office advised people to avoid car journeys on potentially dangerous roads and not to drive, swim or hike through floodwater. It expressed anyone living in a flood risk zone should feel parking their car in a safer area, keeping their valuables high up and charging mobile phones.
The London Fire Brigade cautioned motorists against driving through flood water after it was called to save a partially submerged vehicle. Some impacted areas could see 100 to 120mm (four to five inches) of rain on Monday, and forecasters expressed there may be more warnings in the week ahead.
Flooding slowed some journeys to the airport on Sunday in Luton, Bedfordshire, and footage showed debris flying in a supposed mini-tornado. Police said road closures were in place across Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire on Monday after “substantial flooding” overnight. Bedfordshire Police expressed it had closed part of Dunstable High Street, with footage on social media showing cars driving through deep water. Central Bedfordshire Council stated flooding had hit Flitwick, Cranfield, and Marston Moretaine.