Friday 20 July 2007

It doesn't just rain ... it pours!!!!!!

UK EXPERIENCING 'UNPRECEDENTED' FLOODING


Oh my goodness, I'm about to get flooded out.

The rain started in the early hours of this morning and is just getting worse. Everywhere is flooded. The news on TV is plastered with areas of the counrty that are under water. My mother has just been on the phone to me and informed me that in some areas of our town the flood water is up to the height of the car windows.

Below is a photograph that I have just taken from my window...and the water is still rising....oh crumbs!!!!



The most amazing things is that, this time last year, the Thames area (where I live) was under severe drought warnings with hosepipe bans. The main news focus was that our reservoirs were almost completely empty due to the years of little rainfall.

What is this world coming too?????????


UPDATE!! [21st July 2007]

It looks like the worst is over for my area now. It seems that the whole of the country has been flooded today. A news broadcast has just announced that the normal classification of heavy rain in the UK is 4mm of rainfall per hour. However, today we had 40mm per hour for several hours (which is classified as severe tropical storm).



Here are a few photos to show the result of today's rains:

1) Around the corner from my house.




2) Battersea, London



3) Berkshire




4) Croydon





5) South Croydon





6) Gloucestershire




7) Gloucestershire





8) Manchester



9) Oxfordshire



10) London




11) London




12) Wallington




13) A Train Station



14) Warwickshire





15) Tewksbury



16) A few pictures from around Swindon, my home town.







UPDATE!! [22nd July 2007]

10,000 homes flooded
50,000 homes without electricity
350,000 homes have no fresh water
1,000,000+ people affected





If it keeps raining like this, I'll have to build myself a boat........





Cheerio for now!!!

Graham x

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ouch! Is your apartment safe?

Graham Ettridge said...

I'm not sure...I think my house will be okay for the next couple of hours. If it doesn't stop raining then the water will reach my entrance hall and into my lounge. I've already carried most of my furniture upstairs into my bedrooms. I'm not enjoying the waiting...and I hope the rain stops soon :(

Love For Child said...

You know I love rain....but in this case... I don't. I hope it will stop raining and it won't create too much damage to your house and just neighborhood. Too much of everything is always bad, I guess...

mrsnesbitt said...

Just to let you know I am thinking about you.
I know many people here who have had their houses flooded and it is not a pleasant experience.
You have friends and I would like to think they will help you through this.
Take Care
Denise
Nr Whitby, North Yorkshire.

Graham Ettridge said...

Love for child, I agree...I love the rain too. Especially when I am walking (as long as I have a thermos of hot tea). Thanks for your kind words.

mrsnesbitt, thank you too. The rain seems to be subsiding now...hopefully the worst is over.

rosshetherington said...

Its not as bad as your is! Ours is just the garden, it hasnt reached the house - but apparently the rain will stop in our area until the small hours of the morning - so it could get higher - were trying to look for a pump hire place.

Hopes your is ok!

http://www.rosshetherington.com/?p=90

Daszzle said...

Oh no, that's horrible! I really hope it lets up soon for you. Not that this is even close in comparison- but my basement flooded when I was little and the thing my mom most regrets is not getting her wedding dress out... so I guess what I'm saying is don't leave behind the things that you treasure for items worth more in monetary value.

I'll be crossing my fingers for you.

Deadpoolite said...

Man, that is not raining it is a cataclysm! I hope it all works out for you and your house ends up with minor casualties...

Best of luck really!

Graham Ettridge said...

Ross, thanks for the comment and I hope your place is okay too.

Graham Ettridge said...

Daszzle, thanks matie!! It looks like the worst is over now. The house seems to be fine, but my back garden (backyard) is in a bit of a mess. Kindest regards, Graham :)

Graham Ettridge said...

DP, thanks friend. It looks like the rain has stopped now. Just a little clearing up to do. Luckily it didn't come in the house. Kind regards Graham :)

Anonymous said...

Holy shit !

Is the whole country flooded like that ? I haven't watched international weather...

Must be kinda scary. It rained a lot these last few days in Ottawa too, which is fairly rare. We usually get thunderstorm but not constant pouring rain.

Update on the situation ! ;)

Graham Ettridge said...

Zhu, it is astonishing. The whole country is flooding. I have updated the post to show some of the many areas that have been hit. Best wishes, Graham

Deadpoolite said...

Wow!!! I thought the last big UK flood was when I stashed some toilet paper down the toilet when I was living in a Halls of Residence during my undergraduate years in London (dont ask....lol).

Sorry, just wanted to defuse the ominous apocalyptic images you showcase with a bit of humour.

It is truely surreal what is happening at the moment in Europe. Central to Northern Europe are literally going through Autumn (does this even exist anymore?/heavy Winter weather with extreme raining and all. In the meantime Southern Europe, where I am at, is attacked by extreme heat waves from Africa. Temperature in Greece will reach a maximum of 43-45 degrees celcius with no signs of cooling down till next Friday!

I am not sure if we live in the same continent anymore with the Northern Europeans:)

AZZITIZZ said...

Hi from Manchester.
As I commented on your last post, tomorrow is our Annual Carnival.
This year the floats had better REALLY float! The water where we are has subsided quite a lot and we are just keeping our fingers, toes and eyes crossed that it stays away for the parade. Doubt if anyone will go to the fair on the fields after though, being townies, not many of us own waders!
Glad to hear your waterlevel is dropping too.
Good Luck and Best Wishes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
o
o
o
:(
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sebastian said...

YIKES! Everything ok over there, Graham? Sounds like you need a holiday in Honolulu! Come and we can hang out!

We just had a hurricane here in Honolulu - mostly hitting the southern islands and not much rain where I am.

Mexico City floods every night - the entire city is built on an old lake - so we are used to flooding! :)

Are you close to London? I might be visiting you :))

--sebastian

haziewinter said...

i hope your house is ok!
im terrified of storms and drowning i would never be able to last over there! well good luck! i home all is well in the end!
o yea i also wanted to stop by and say thank you for the comment, i have a new post if you would like to continue on!
so sorry its flooded where you are!
kisses!

Jon Sidwell said...

wow some of those pictures are crazy man, i cant believe all this weather we're getting its mental.

sid.
www.musicliberation.blogspot.com

Miss Pajamas said...

Poor Graham. I hate when rain gets out of control. I actually hate it when any type of weather gets out of control... It's boiling hot over here in States, where I am at. Hope everything you have stays dry!

Graham Ettridge said...

DP, thanks for making me smile and I hope you are enjoying the hot weather there!!!

Thanks Azzitizz, I hope the carnival went okay. Have a great weekend.

Sebastian, I think the whole country needs a holiday after this. I don't live in London, I live about 1.5 hours drive away. Let me know when you are coming to the UK!!!

Haziewinter, thanks for your kind words. Best wishes from me :)

Sid, I hope it's okay where you are too. It's not good at all is it?

Miss pajamas, thanks for your kind wishes. It looks like I am one of the lucky ones, and the water hasn't got inside my house. However, it would be great if you could send me some of that sunshine you're having :)

Simon said...

Ironically, there is a severe drought where I live. At least, our situation is less of a problem for now compared to what you're experiencing.

Graham Ettridge said...

neoauture, ironically we had a severe drought last year. Everything seems to be a bit mixed up on our planet now. It looks like England is going to have a tropical climate from now on.

no more said...

I feel ya - went through the same thing through the entire spring. And the last year or two we were under a severe drought, the lakes dried up and we had lots of grassfires. Mother nature has an odd way of evening things out. All or nothing.

Just when I thought it was finally drying out a storm blasted through this afternoon with torrential rains and crashing lightning. Maybe Noah had the right idea...

Choc Mint Girl said...

How’s everything, Graham?! I haven’t seen anything like that in England before OR am I just so outdated with the current news (??)...Take care!!

Livingsword said...

Wow I don’t check your blog for a couple of days and then it is turned into CNN central! Looks like the forecast is for sun on Tuesday, I guess nobody in the UK will complain about hot dry temperatures for awhile.

Thank goodness this in not while the Premiership is going on Giggs would look silly out on the field with water wings, I love the Noah image.

Take care…

Graham Ettridge said...

Hi Muse!! I hope you and Mia are well and happy!!! And if I do end up building that boat, I'll be sure to sail by and say hello to you :)

Hello Choc, This is uncommon here. We do experience some localised flooding occassionally during the winter months, but nothing as widespread as this in the middle of the summer.

Livingsword, perhaps I'm in the wrong vocation - I just need to brush up on reading from an autocue... who know's? I could be in front of the camera before the year is out.

Livingsword said...

Graham;
Since you are an animal lover you may be interested that on my blog “Creation on the Blade” we are playing Who am I? the animal guessing game right now.

college essays said...

One of the main problems during flooding is just the effects and reaction to electricity water and electrics are a dangerous and lethal combination

paulsmith198914@gmail.com said...

I just wanted to ask you how do you feel now? What has happened with your apartment? Poor people... Hope you are better now! Best regards,
edit-ing.services

Graham's Photobook....Through The Eyes Of A Dreamer

Please click on the link below to view or purchase my new book.