UK battered by storms - Jan 2005

[Guest guest]

Rahu's exact aspect on Mercury-Venus-Moon giving prominent effect - well done to

Jorge for rectifying the 1801 UK chart, placing TR Merc-Ven-Moon all in the 4th

House - afflicted by TR Rahu from the 8th House.

 

Sateesh.

 

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4156017.stm

 

Floods and high winds bring chaos

 

Many in Carlisle centre have been evacuated after massive floods

Thousands of people have been evacuated in flood-stricken Carlisle after

gale-force winds and rain lashed the UK.

More than 3,000 people have already been moved to safety with a further

3,000 homes at "great risk" and 110,000 homes without power in the city.

 

Northumberland, North Wales and Scotland are among other areas worst hit

and a spate of accidents has shut roads all over Britain.

 

Environment agencies have issued more than 100 flood warnings on UK

rivers.

 

'Cut off'

 

Among them are three severe flood warnings of imminent danger to life and

property - for the River Eden, Carlisle, the River Caldew, in nearby Denton

Holme, and the River Teith at Callander, in Scotland.

 

Much of Carlisle city centre resembles a boating lake

 

BBC correspondent Catherine Marston

 

 

In pictures: Storm sweeps UK

Families airlifted to safety

 

On Scotland's west coast, a ferry ran aground with the 100 people on board

set to remain overnight.

 

Police say Carlisle is completely cut off, with no safe roads in or out,

and they have been appealing for help from boat owners because cars are unable

to reach central areas.

 

Speaking from Cumbria, BBC correspondent Catherine Marston said much of

the city centre resembled "a boating lake".

 

"There is no sign of this floodwater subsiding and it makes you wonder

where on earth all that water is going to go to.

 

"Even if it doesn't get any worse, the situation is pretty awful."

 

Helicopters had rescued at least 15 people, including children, from roofs

in the area with the RAF on standby to airlift up to 8,000 more to safety, she

added.

 

Motorists across the UK are being advised not to make journeys unless

absolutely necessary and farmers are being told to move livestock to higher

ground.

 

'No casualties'

 

Hundreds of thousands of people have been without power.

 

We're pumping it out of one door and it's coming in through another

 

Cumbria Fire Service spokesman

 

Central Networks, which distributes electricity throughout the Midlands,

said 84,000 homes and businesses had been affected overnight with about 9,000

still cut off.

 

Southern Electric said 5,000 people in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire,

Wiltshire and the Isle of Wight are also without electricity after power cuts

which, at their peak, saw 20,000 people cut off.

 

Earlier, a spokesman for Cumbria Fire Service said he was not yet aware of

any casualties but the fire service was stretched to its limit dealing with the

level of flooding.

 

MAJOR ROADS CLOSED

M6 southbound, J44-43, northbound J5-6

M1 northbound J26, southbound 27-26

A66 at Eden Bridge, Cumbria

A591 in Kendal and part of the A69;

A470 at Llanrwst, north Wales

No safe routes in or out of Carlisle, say police

A65 through Otley and Ilkley, West Yorkshire

A68 at Jedburgh and a section of theA6088 closed, as well as a

number of minor roads in the Scottish Borders

A7 and A701 at Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway;

A832 in the Highlands

 

"We're pumping it out of one door and it's coming in through another," he

said.

 

Police in Cumbria are also warning of treacherous conditions on the roads.

Stretches of the M6, M1 and A1M have been shut by overturned lorries.

 

The Highways Agency said 25 lorries were overturned on the A1M between

junctions 58 and 63 alone. Major bridges around the country have been closed or

restricted, and some train services have been severely disrupted.

 

In Haydon Bridge, on the Tyne, 40 people were taken from their homes to

temporary shelter in a village school after the River South Tyne burst its

banks, although they were returning by midday on Saturday.

 

In Llanrwst in Conwy, several houses are flooded and two people were

rescued from a car. The main A470 road is flooded either side of the town.

 

Overnight stay

 

In Scotland, the vessel European Highlander ran aground at Cairnryan, in

Dumfries and Galloway, after winds of 100 knots pushed the vessel on to a

stretch of shingle beach 100 yards from her intended berth.

 

 

At least 15 people have been airlifted to safety from stricken farms

 

Its 100 crew and passengers, who had come from Larne in Northern Ireland,

will now stay overnight rather than risk evacuation in the stormy weather.

 

The vessel is expected to be towed off rocks on Sunday when a tug is due

to arrive.

 

Police in central Scotland said a number of roads in the region remained

closed or were passable only with care.

 

In West Yorkshire, residents were evacuated overnight from a handful of

properties after the River Wharfe broke its banks at Otley and Ilkley.

 

BRIDGE RESTRICTIONS

The Ovingham Bridge over the River Tyne;

The Old Severn Bridge is shut - a 50mph restriction is in place on

the Second Severn Crossing;

Large vehicles and cars with roof boxes or trailers are banned from

the Forth and Tay Road.

 

And in neighbouring North Yorkshire, police said heavy rain was causing

problems in the Wensleydale and Swaledale areas.

 

In Northern Ireland, heavy gales have uprooted many trees, with

Enniskillen and Downpatrick particularly affected.

 

Widespread gales are expected to continue to affect central and southern

Scotland and northern England throughout Saturday.

 

The winds are likely to remain over the next few days in central and

southern Scotland, with heavy rain in northern England predicted to turn into

squally showers.

 

Ring Floodline on 0845 988 1188 for up-to-date flooding information.