Britain’s royals were visiting the scene of the United Kingdom’s worst floods in 60 years on Friday as emergency teams battled to cope with the crisis one week after it struck.
Prince Charles, heir to the throne, and his sister Princess Anne — both Gloucestershire residents — were visiting victims there and in neighbouring Worcestershire, two of the south and west English counties ravaged by floods.
Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were visiting Upton-upon-Severn, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury, some of the towns hardest hit, to meet families, volunteers and emergency workers struggling to deal with the aftermath. Anne, meanwhile, met affected residents and business people in nearby Hempsted and Longlevens.
Neither Charles’s Highgrove estate nor Anne’s Gatcombe Park home have been hit by the extreme weather.
The floods, the second set to hit Britain within a month, have claimed at least two lives and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has warned the total number of properties swamped could reach 15 000.
Four people were killed in the June 24 to 25 floods that affected north and central England.
Stemming from Britain’s two longest rivers — the Severn and the Thames and their tributaries — the most recent floods have left 130 000 homes without tap water after a treatment plant flooded. More than 300 000 people have been told they face up to two weeks without drinkable tap water.
Tens of thousands of households had their electricity cut, but all but 500 homes have had their power restored. Flooded roads and rails have caused travel chaos.
The flood waters were to continue subsiding slowly on Friday in better weather, but heavy rain was expected to lash the area again overnight on Saturday and into Sunday.
Water crisis
Gloucestershire chief constable Tim Brain said six million litres of water had been supplied to the county on Thursday, including three million litres in bottles. About 120-million litres are normally used daily.
Tewkesbury, one of the towns worst hit, was beginning to receive a limited supply of running water.
”Please do not use water selfishly,” he urged residents. ”Please continue to show patience and forbearance, continue to listen to the messages that you are receiving, exercise common sense particularly around water use and hygiene, and continue to be a good neighbour.”
He confirmed that someone had urinated in a water bowser in the county, which triggered outrage from Gloucester’s MP.
The Environment Agency is maintaining two severe flood warnings on stretches of the River Thames, including one in the university city of Oxford — meaning there is an imminent danger to life and property. It has also issued 12 standard flood warnings across the region, meaning that flooding is expected to affect homes, businesses and main roads.
”The situation has improved,” an Environment Agency spokesperson said. ”River levels have generally stabilised or are falling. It is going to be a couple more days before the situation is back to normal.”
Microbiologists have warned of a danger of potentially lethal bacteria such as E coli and salmonella being left behind in the sludge as flood waters recede.
Meanwhile, Harjit Singh Gill, the mayor of Gloucester, has launched an appeal fund to help the victims. Uninsured locals face having to pay the cost of replacing damaged carpets, furniture and other valuables out of their own funds, while many businesses fear they may not be able to recover.
”Gloucestershire has faced the worst peacetime crisis in the UK in living memory,” Gill said. The fund would ”help get life back to normal for people”.
The floods appeal has already raised more than £73 000.
Meteorologists said on Thursday that the three months from May to July were already easily the wettest in England and Wales since records began in 1766. The Met Office said 387,6mm of rain had fallen. — Sapa-AFP