Two people died and thousands were left without power as the latest storm to hit the U.K. brought gales and heavy rain that has prolonged the risk of flooding in southern England into the coming week.
A woman was killed in London when part of a building collapsed onto a car, police said. A cruise ship passenger died in the English Channel after the vessel was hit by a wave whipped up by winds of 80 miles (129 kilometers) per hour, the Press Association said. Engineers are working to restore power to about 86,500 customers in central-southern England, Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution said on its website.
Hundreds of homes in commuter-belt towns along the River Thames west of London were already flooded and areas of Somerset in southwestern England have been submerged since before Christmas. Water levels have reached their highest in more than 60 years, according to the Environment Agency. The Thames poses a high risk of flooding for at least three more days in Windsor, Maidenhead and Surrey, the agency said today.
“We’re facing a very difficult time because we’ve got the wettest start to a year for 250 years,” Prime Minister David Cameron told ITV News yesterday from Blackpool in northwestern England, which has also been battered by storms. “We are fighting on every front.”
See also:
Floods and storms: More England coverage
In pictures: Heavy rainfall sweeps the UK
Hat tip: Mary S.
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