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Devon train track swept away by sea as David Cameron calls emergency Cobra meeting
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“• More than 200 properties have been
evacuated in Somerset and Devon. Police used megaphone warnings from a
helicopter to urge residents in the…”
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UK storms: rail chaos and more homes evacuated – live updates
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Cameron pledges £100m to tackle floods
More than 200 homes evacuated in Devon and Somerset
Eight severe weather warnings in place for the south-west
Railway workers inspect the main Exeter to
Plymouth railway line that has been closed due to parts of it being
washed away by the sea at Dawlish. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
• More than 200 properties have been evacuated in Somerset and Devon. Police used megaphone warnings from a helicopter to urge residents in the flood-stricken Somerset Levels to leave their homes.
• Eight severe flood warnings are in place in the south west of England as the region was hit by winds of more than 90mph, heavy rain and high tides. A further 65 flood warnings are in place across southern England, the Midlands and Wales. • A 30m stretch of the seawall in Dawlish has been swept away leaving the main south-west rail line dangling over the sea. Rail services west of Exeter are likely to face weeks of disruption. MPs have called for the line to be rerouted.
• David Cameron has pledged to provide £100m to tackle the aftermath of the floods. After
chairing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee for the first time
this year to discuss the crisis, the prime minister said he had told
those attending that "there should be no restrictions on help for those
affected". Some £75m of the pledged cash will fund repairs, £15m will go
on maintenance and £10m has been earmarked for "urgent work" in
Somerset, Cameron said during PMQs. But Friends in the Earth said it
felt way short of what was required and that there is "a gaping half
billion pound hole between what’s been spent on defences and what’s
required".
• The Met Office and Environment Agency warned that
the stormy weather is forecast to continue into the weekend bringing the
risk of more flooding and winds bringing down trees and causing
more disruption to travel and power networks. The Environment Agency
said it was likely to issue more flood warnings. • Western Power Distribution said 9,000 homes remained without power on Wednesday afternoon. High winds overnight had left 44,000 people in the south-west without power.
• Elsewhere,
flood warning sirens were sounded again in Chiswell on the Dorset coast
and another chunk of the Brighton's West Pier was swept away.The
local MP in Newbury said flooding was approaching 2007 levels. In
Porthleven, on the Cornish coast, balks used to protect the harbour were
smashed by the tide, leading to several boats to be sunk.
Waves pound the seafront in Brighton. See the best UK storm images in our gallery. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
The prime minister has made some more comments after the Cobra
emergency committee meeting. He said he wanted to see a "proper
alternative service" for those affected by the damage to the railway
line at Dawlish.
He said:
My
sympathy is with everyone affected by the ongoing storms which are
causing misery to communities and businesses across the country.
With
power outages, more flooding and more bad weather forecast, I have
chaired a Cobra (meeting) this afternoon to ensure that everything that
can be done to get stricken communities moving is being done: there are
no restrictions on help.
I have seen the shocking pictures of the
destroyed train line in Dawlish and I am determined that while it is out
of action, the public get a proper alternative service and a solution
is found to fix it, as soon as possible. The government will continue to
hold emergency Cobra meetings to ensure these problems are sorted out.
In
Somerset, the Environment Agency continues to pump three million tonnes
of water a day off the Levels alongside high velocity pumps provided by
the fire and rescue service. But no amount of pumping will solve the
current problem completely because the land is so saturated, so dredging
will start as soon as the waters have receded enough for it to be safe
to do so.
We need a long-term solution, so earlier today I
announced a further £100 million to repair and maintain those flood
defences which have taken such a battering, while protecting 165,000
homes in recent weeks, in addition to a record £2.4 billion being spent
by this Government.
The government's emergency committee has finished its meeting.
The
unsettled weather will continue over the coming days with heavy rain
across the southern half of Britain on Thursday evening into Friday, and
that will be quickly followed by another storm moving in early on
Saturday.
This will bring the risk of flooding and damaging winds bringing down trees to cause disruption to travel and power networks.
BBC Somerset has posted audio
of the police warning from a megaphone in a helicopter urging residents
in three villages in the Somerset Levels to leave their homes.
One of the severe flood warnings, that relating to Lands End to Plymouth, has been removed, meaning that there are now eight in force.
Winds are continuing to strengthen and won't die down until 9pm, according to one forecaster.
Large parts of Brighton's West Pier now
teeter on the brink of total collapse after a powerful storm destroyed
the lower section. Photograph: Neil Hawkins/Demotix/CorbisEngineers and members of the emergency
services combine to survey the sunken section of the mainline railway
track near the coastal town of Dawlish. Photograph: Neil Munns/EPA
Patrick Hallgate, from Network Rail, told Sky News repairing the
track at Dawlish represented "a significant engineering challenge". The
line is clearly not expected to be up and running for some time.
Guy Shrubsole, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, also criticised Cameron's announcement. He said:
The
Prime Minister may bluff and bluster about cuts in flood defences, but
he can’t disguise his Government’s short-sighted and disastrous
decisions.
Official figures show the Coalition spent less
than the last government on flood defences. And with climate change
worsening flood risk, there is now a gaping half billion pound hole
between what’s been spent on defences and what’s required.
Extra
investment is always welcome, but £100m for neglected repairs is like
trying to plug the leaks when the dam’s about to burst.
A
comprehensive review of flooding and climate change is urgently needed
to help protect the hundreds of thousands of households already affected
by the recent deluge - and the countless more at risk in future.
Another expert has accused the prime minister of putting politics
before science by suggesting that dredging is the answer to flooding in
the Somerset Levels.
Dr Hannah Cloke, associate professor of hydrology at the University of Reading, said:
The
prime minister’s comment that we should spend more money dredging
rivers, because it worked decades and centuries ago, shows short-term
politics has trumped long-term scientific and economic evidence.
An
extra £100m for emergency repairs and maintenance is very welcome, but
when the risk of floods is growing and when public finances are tight
it’s vital that every penny is spent wisely.
Supporting dredging
is attractive because it looks like action, but Cameron should realise
that it is not just the climate which is changing. The Britain of today
is very different from the Britain of the past. If we want to better
adapt to the risk of flooding, taxpayers’ cash would be better spent on
more effective, long-term soft engineering schemes to protect homes,
such as water capture and upland tree planting.
Summary
Here's a summary of the latest developments:
• More than 200 properties have been evacuated in Somerset and Devon.
Police are to use megaphone warnings from a helicopter to urge
residents in the flood-stricken Somerset Levels to leave their homes.
•
Winds of more than 90mph, heavy rain and high tides prompted the
Environment Agency to issue nine severe flood warnings in the south west
of England. A further 68 flood warnings are in place across
southern England, the Midlands and Wales. The agency said there would be
a medium risk of flooding in southern England at least until Friday.
• David Cameron has pledged to provide £100m to tackle the aftermath of the floods.
Some £75m will fund repairs, £15m will go on maintenance and £10m has
been earmarked for "urgent work" in Somerset, the prime minister said
during PMQ. Later he chaired a meeting of the Cobra emergency
committee for the first time this year to discuss the crisis. So far
this year the meetings have been chaired by the under-fire environment
secretary Owen Paterson.
• The Met Office has issued amber "be prepared" warnings for much of southern England because of the high winds and heavy rain. Wind speeds of more than 90mph were recorded overnight in the Scilly isles and parts of Devon saw more than 30mm of rain. • A 30m stretch of the seawall in Dawlish has been swept away leaving the main south-west rail line dangling over the sea. Rail services west of Exeter are likely to face weeks of disruption. MPs have called for the line to be rerouted. • High winds overnight left 44,000 people in the south-west without power.By morning Western Power Distribution said all but 5,000 homes had now been reconnected.
•
Elsewhere, flood warning sirens were sounded again in Chiswell on the
Dorset coast and another chunk of the Brighton's West Pier was swept
away. The local MP in Newbury said flooding was approaching 2007
levels. In Porthleven, on the Cornish coast, balks used to protect the
harbour were smashed by the tide, leading to several boats to be sunk.
Police in Somerset are to use megaphones from helicopters to warn
residents in Northmoor, Saltmoor and Fordgate to evacuate their homes.
Here's Steven Morris's report on the scene in Dawlish.
The
residents of Riviera Terrace and Sea Lawn Terrace in Dawlish are used
to their homes shaking a little when a storm hits the Devon coast and
don't take much notice when high waves throw spray up against their
front windows.
"But this was different," said Neil Jones. "It was
like being in a car wash. The waves were pounding against the terrace."
When he went and took a look at the buckled mainline rail track, which
runs a few metres in from the sea, he knew they were in trouble. "Then
the police and rail people came running and told us to get out. We just
upped and left."
The Paignton Poet sums up the scene on the Devon coast in verse:
Residents in more than 150 homes on the flood-stricken Somerset Levels, have been urged to evacuate their homes, PA reports.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said:
Police
officers and volunteers have knocked on doors or called on
the phone to deliver the advice that they should leave immediately. A
retaining wall at Baltmoor is in danger of overtopping, which would
release an increased volume of flood water into the area. There are six
properties in Saltmoor that we have been unable to contact because of
inaccessibility caused by the floods.
There
is a high likelihood of severe fluvial flooding across the Somerset
Levels today (HIGH flood risk) with a continuing medium likelihood of
significant fluvial flooding (MEDIUM flood risk) from tomorrow. There is
also a high likelihood of severe coastal flooding impacts (HIGH coastal
flood risk) along parts of the Dorset and Devon coastline for the late
Wednesday morning high tide. There is a high likelihood of significant
coastal flooding impacts (MEDIUM flood risk) along parts of the Cornwall
coastline today (Wednesday) and a low likelihood of significant impacts
(LOW coastal flood risk) in parts of south-east England today. Low
likelihood of significant impacts from river and surface water flooding
(LOW flood risk) in south-west England, central southern England and
parts of south-east England today as a result of further rainfall, with a
medium likelihood of minor impacts elsewhere in south-east England and
South Wales. Further heavy rainfall on Thursday and Friday brings a
medium likelihood of significant impacts from river and surface water
flooding (MEDIUM flood risk) for large parts of southern England. There
is also a medium likelihood of minor impacts (LOW flood risk) in
surrounding counties (coloured yellow on the accompanying maps) on
Thursday and Friday. There are also ongoing significant flooding impacts
from groundwater flooding in parts of southern England.
More than 50 homes have evacuated in Dawlish, the police have told the Guardian's Steven Morris.
More YouTube footage from Dawlish shows waves battering coastal
roads, the railway line, and what remains of beach huts on the seafront.
Before rail services were cancelled in Dawlish, YouTube user Daryl Fensom uploaded this footage taken from inside a train on Monday.
It shows huge waves lashing the side of the train as the conductor
apologises for the train's slow progress, in the bored way that only
conductors now how.
Better news for some of the branch lines in Cornwall.
But the main coast line looks set to be closed for some time, and
there aren't even replacement bus services because of the state of the
roads.
PA has more of what Cameron told PMQs after announcing that £100m for tackling the floods.
Mr Cameron also told MPs that the government would meet in full local
councils' claims for funding under the Bellwin Scheme, which provides
compensation to areas facing exceptional costs from flooding.
The claim period has been extended to the end of March to recognise
the ongoing problems, he said, and action would be taken to ensure badly
hit Cornwall would not miss out.
Its status as a unitary authority had raised concerns that it would have to spend huge sums before becoming eligible for help.
Town hall chiefs say the entire Bellwin Formula is outdated and must be reformed.
Labour leader Ed Miliband told the Commons: "Many of those affected
feel the fovernment's response has been slow and that more could have
been done sooner."
Trev Hunt has footage of debris left by the tide on the streets of
Chiswell. It appears to have been filmed while the flood siren was being
sounded.
In the last Parliament MPs estimated that the cost of re-routing the south-west coast line inland would be £100m.
In a debate in 2010 Anne Marie Morris, the MP for Newton Abbot, said Network Rail spent an estimated £500,000 each year maintaining the line.
She said:
The main challenge is this: as a coastal line, it is inevitably
affected by erosion and a rise in sea level. The line follows 13 miles
of tidal water, four of which are aligned with or cross open sea. The
Met Office prediction is that sea levels will rise by 0.32 metres over
the next 100 years. That may seem a lot, and we need to plan now because
of the consequences.
Another factor needs to be taken into
account. The Minister may know that the UK is on a tilt: the south-west
is tipping into the sea, and the north-east is going the other way and
rising out of the sea. As a consequence, the south-west is sinking by
between 5 mm and 10 mm a decade. We need to consider what has to be done
sooner rather than later.
I have discussed the problem with
Network Rail, the body responsible for maintaining the line. It is more
than happy-it believes that it is viable-to continue investing £500,000 a
year to ensure that the sea wall remains rugged and fit for purpose.
However, when looking forward to 2025, it believes that more investment
will be required. If we are to make that further investment, we need to
consider its quantum and what sort of disruption would be caused to
local businesses, tourists and commuters, as we need to manage the
process in a sensible way.
Southern England is "stuck" in a "storm factory" according to Dr Rob
Thompson, a meteorologist at the University of Reading. In an email he
warns there is no end in sight to the weather pattern that has caused so
much disruption this winter. He said:
This
pattern of weather, with a constant conveyor belt of Atlantic storms
hitting southern Britain, shows no sign of abating yet. It’s caused by
conditions in the North Atlantic where warm, moist air from the tropics
is coming up unusually close to very cold polar air. This clash of air
masses is effectively a storm factory, causing twisting, rotating
weather systems to form before being fired eastwards at Britain by a
strong jet stream.
It’s not uncommon for weather patterns in
Britain to get ‘stuck’ as they have been in recent weeks. Lots of
weather research is currently focusing on why winter storms tend to
cluster together like London buses. This current cluster seems to be
going on particularly long though, and is unprecedented for the south of
England. With more bad weather predicted for Friday and Saturday the
storm factory is running at full pelt and doesn’t look like going out of
business just yet.
The Environment Agency says it does not expected the next high tide
on the south coast to be as damaging as the one this morning.
Speaking to my colleague Adam Vaughahn, a spokesman said:
The high tide this morning caused some impact, particularly around
Dawlish. We are now waiting for the next high tide, which will be at
around 5pm.
We don't think it will be as extreme as the one this
morning. We have a band of rain coming in now which could see some
impact, particuarly in Somerset.
We are currently checking damage
done by the wave action, making sure emergency repair work is done,
making sure flood defences can stand up to any further wave action.
Cameron pledges £100m to tackle floods
An extra £100m will be spent over the next year tackling the
aftermath of the devastating floods that have hit Britain, David Cameron
has announced.
Some £75m will fund repairs, £15m will go on
maintenance and £10m has been earmarked for "urgent work" in
Somerset, the Prime Minister said.
Cameron is to chair a meeting of Cobra - the civil contingencies committee that leads responses to national crises.
At Prime Minister's questions, he told MPs: "Whatever is required,
whether it is dredging work on the rivers Tone and Parrett, whether it
is support for our emergency services, whether it is fresh money for
flood defences, whether it is action across the board, this Government
will help those families and get this issue sorted."
Thirty people had to be evacuated from their homes in Dawlish, according to Councillor John Clatworthy.
Speaking to PA he said:
People had to be evacuated when the sea wall went and the track was breached.
There were about 30 people who had to leave their homes. To be
honest, I have been here for 44 years and we haven't had storm damage
like we have now.
The railway was built in around the 1850s and there had been two
breaches before now, around 150 years ago. The storm last night was
unbelievable.
It is not just Dawlish that is affected, this
railway line is to Plymouth, the naval bases, Cornwall - it is a
lifeline.Something needs to be done and it is not just a five minute
job.
Steven Morris has been talking to evacuees in Dawlish:
Flood defence balks protecting the Cornish fishing town of
Porthleven have been smashed, according to my colleague Matt Hall whose
parents live there.
He writes:
The
balks are used to close the inner harbour entrance when there's a
storm. They have been in place for the last week, preventing any fishing
boats from going out. But they have been smashed by the storm, meaning
that the boats inside the harbour are unprotected, and at least half
dozen have sunk. These baulks have apparently been in use since the
harbour was built in 1858.
There are also two cannons that
guard the harbour entrance. One has been displaced by the storm and is
reported to about to fall into the harbour.
Fishermen
and the emergency services are battling to remove boats from
Porthleven’s inner harbour this morning in a bid to save them from
sinking.
The power of the waves has already seen the balks (large pieces of wood) fail between the inner and outer harbour.
It means that the waves are now rolling through the normally protected inner harbour – and the boats sheltering in there.
Six or seven boats have already been sunk as a result and now a rescue bid is on to save others from the clutches on the sea.
One
of the port’s historic cannons, close to the Ship Inn, is also
teetering perilously close to the edge of the harbour, having been
dragged there by the gale force winds.
Local councillor Andrew Wallis tweets the scene.
A man and woman walk along the seafront as
waves break over the harbour wall at Porthcawl in Wales. Photograph:
Matthew Horwood/Getty ImagesDebris sits in a swollen river in Dawlish,
where high tides and strong winds have created havoc disrupting road and
rail networks and causing damage to property. Photograph: Ben
Birchall/PAA huge waves break over the railway in Dawlish. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA
Here's a summary of the latest developments:
• Winds of
more than 90mph, heavy rain and high tides prompted the Environment
Agency to issue nine severe flood warnings in the south west of England. More homes have been evacuated in the flood-stricken Somerset Levels.
• The Met Office has issued amber "be prepared" warnings for much of southern England because of the high winds and heavy rain. Wind speeds of more than 90mph were recorded overnight in the Scilly isles and parts of Devon saw more than 30mm of rain. • A 30m stretch of the seawall in Dawlish has been swept away leaving the main south-west rail line dangling over the sea. Rail services west of Exeter are likely to face weeks of disruption. MPs have called for the line to be rerouted.
• David
Cameron is to chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee for the
first time this year to discuss ways of tackling the floods and the
aftermath of the latest storm. So far this year the meeting have been chaired by the under-fire environment secretary Owen Paterson.
• High winds overnight left 44,000 people in the south-west without power. By morning Western Power Distribution said all but 5,000 homes had now been reconnected.
• Elsewhere,
flood warning sirens were sounded again in Chiswell on the Dorset coast
and another chunk of the Brighton's West Pier was swept away. The local MP in Newbury said flooding was approaching 2007 levels.
The Guardian's Steven Morris has made it to a makeshift evacuation centre in Dawlish.
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