Published time: January 04, 2014 09:58
Edited time: January 04, 2014 17:44
Waves
crash against the coastal wall in the village of Carnlough as high
tides and strong winds cause some flooding in coastal areas of Northern
Ireland January 3, 2014. (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)
Coastal areas in the south and west of the UK have
been swept with waves of up to 10 meters (30 feet) high, causing
flooding and destruction. With around a hundred flood warnings active on
Saturday, the country could yet expect more severe storms.
Gale force winds accompanied by monster waves, twice the height
of a double-decker bus, eroded Britain’s Atlantic coast on
Friday. Dozens of houses were flooded, piers damaged, roads and
railway tracks, including major ones, affected.
At Heathrow several flights had trouble landing because of the
wind, while connections to and from Gatwick were hampered by the
bad weather.
More than a hundred flood warnings were issued by Environment
Agency Saturday morning. Four of those were severe. That was
one-fifth Friday’s rate. However weather forecasts for the coming
days say it’s not yet time to relax.
"
We certainly do have worse to come, we know that we've got
another band of weather coming in on Sunday which is going to
bring along what we call fluvial flooding, that's flooding to the
rivers," The Telegraph cited warning from Chris Bainger,
spokesperson for the Environment Agency.
The areas of particular risk pinpointed by the agency included
the Devon and Cornwall coastlines, Dorset, the Welsh coast and
the Scilly Isles.
Waves crash over the promenade at hightide in Saundersfoot, in west Wales January 3, 2014. (Reuters/Rebecca Naden)
Natural Resources Wales’ statement predicted the region was going
to be exposed to “
the highest tide to hit the whole Welsh
coast since 1997.”
Some of the residents of Newport in south Wales were evacuated on
Friday. People in the “yellow-alert” areas across Britain have
been told to have their bags packed in case of an emergency.
The bad weather has also affected Northern Ireland, where in
Belfast police have been delivering sandbags and have issued a
warning to people in the Sydenham and Docks areas to prepare for
potential flooding and the possibility of evacuation, according
to The Belfast Telegraph.
The Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted his thanks to the
emergency services and said that 200,000 properties have been
protected by flood defenses over the last 36 hours.
The rough weather attracted a lot of sightseers to the piers and
harbors, despite police cautions for people to stay away from
seafront areas. Social networks of UK internet users have been
deluged with images of the enormous waves and their impact.
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