Beach huts have been blown into the sea, more than 200 people have been evacuated and fire services have warned people affected by flooding to get to high ground as Storm Kathleen hit Easter holiday hotspots along the south coast.
Evacuations in West Sussex went ahead after the River Arun overflowed its banks, with further warnings that flooding may increase throughout Tuesday.
About 180 people were rescued overnight from Medmerry Holiday Park in Earnley and about 15 from Ferry Road and Rope Walk in Littlehampton, West Sussex county council said. One person showing signs of hypothermia was taken to hospital.
The council said evacuations of about 20 people were under way on Tuesday morning from Bracklesham Caravan and Boat Club.
In Falmouth, Cornwall, beach huts were washed into the sea by the strong winds and in Bournemouth, Dorset, huts toppled and inched towards the sea.
Forecasters warned that heavy rain and strong winds would continue to batter parts of southern England, western Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland over the next few days.
West Sussex fire and rescue service (WSFRS) said on Tuesday morning that its Littlehampton incident had been stood down.
Jim Mackay, WSFRS’s group manager, said the next high tide was due around lunchtime and would be “slightly higher than the one we’ve had the other night”.
He warned anybody stuck or trapped by flood water to stay on high ground and contact the emergency services by calling 999.
Julie Everitt, 67, a Littlehampton resident, told the Daily Mail that she had seen two toilet bowls float down her road. She said she had placed sandbags around her front door shortly after her electricity went out at about 11.30pm on Monday, adding thatshe was concerned about further flooding on Tuesday, and her power supply had not returned.
She said: “I was petrified because I was out in the front garden just to see how far it was coming up and then all of a sudden, there was a surge.
“I ran down my side gate and it was too late because by the time I got in my garden, my garden was flooded and I was about two inches deep, treading in it and it was the smell as well, because obviously all the drains …
“There’s a yard over the road and there are two toilet systems sitting there and they floated down the road – two porcelain toilets, that’s how fierce it was.”
She added: “We’re just standing around. You can’t do much, we’re just waiting for the midday tide to come in to see what that’s going to bring and … we’re just sitting waiting around for the big one tonight.”
A resident of Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex said flooding in the town was “scary and unprecedented”, after he stayed up until the early hours putting flood defences around his property.
Gareth Theobald, 36, told the PA news agency: “I was out the front of the building and watching the water just get higher and higher and higher, and then helping or stopping traffic going into the flood waters, and then just watching in disbelief as the whole of Brighton Road and our multimillion-pound development was being engulfed by flood waters.
“The amount of water is scary and unprecedented and those houses opposite our development are lower-ground flats and they were all flooded under a foot or so of water.”
He said he saw cars “driving into the floods at speed as well and getting stuck”.
West Sussex county council said water levels had not yet receded and flooding might increase throughout the day. On Tuesday morning, it said: “Those who have been evacuated remain displaced.”
A refuge centre for affected residents had been set up at Wave Littlehampton leisure centre, Arun district council said.
A yellow weather warning for the west coast of Wales is in place until 3pm on Tuesday, when “a spell of strong winds” will affect the region.
In Scotland, 20mm to 40mm of rainfall is expected in some areas until 6pm on Tuesday, while a few places could see as much as 60mm. Affected areas include Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Aberdeen.
Further rainfall is forecast in western Scotland between 9am and 10pm on Wednesday and may cause flooding, with 20mm to 30mm of rain expected in most places and 40mm to 60mm on high ground.
Source: theguardian.com
