Hundreds asked to leave homes in Derbyshire town due to Storm …

Firefighters have been knocking on the doors of more than 250 homes in Long Eaton this afternoon to advise people to leave their properties due to flooding caused by Storm Babet.[1] People in the Derbyshire town are being urged to stay with friends and family or to go to a rest centre which has been set up at West Park Leisure Centre because of the rising flood waters.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service issued a warning about Long Eaton as they – together with other emergency services and local authorities – continued to deal with hundreds of calls and a large number of flooding problems across the county’s roads[2] on Saturday afternoon.

River levels in Derbyshire are expected to peak in the early evening, particularly in the south of the county.

People have taken to social media to post about the issues being experienced in Long Eaton[3]. One user said: “I feel so sorry for anyone who is currently dealing with water in their property! Let’s hope this water recedes quickly so that the clean-up can begin.”

Should the UK deal with extreme weather better?[4] Let us know in our poll.

Another said: “So sorry for all those people that are affected by the floods. Is there anything anyone needs? Times like this we all need to pull together and help wherever we can.”

It comes as Derbyshire County Council said there is still extensive flooding[5] and standing water on roads across Derbyshire following the unprecedented rainfall over the past 36 hours.

Aerial view of the flooding in Sandiacre
Aerial view of the flooding in Sandiacre

A spokesman for the authority said: “While the clean-up has begun in some communities, river levels in the south of the county have yet to peak and people are being urged to take action to protect themselves and their property.

“Our highways teams are already out on the main road network where water has receded and have begun the process of clearing roads of mud and debris and checking for hazards brought about by flooding. But with so many routes affected, this is an extensive operation which will take some time.”

He added: “Residents are being reminded to only travel if essential and urged not to remove road closure signs and cones which have been put in place for the safety of road users.”

We will be posting live updates on our blog throughout the day[6], detailing everything you need to know about the disruptions brought on by the storm. You can get the latest road closures in our separate rolling blog here[7].

References

  1. ^ due to flooding caused by Storm Babet. (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
  2. ^ large number of flooding problems across the county’s roads (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
  3. ^ Long Eaton (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
  4. ^ Should the UK deal with extreme weather better? (xd.wayin.com)
  5. ^ Derbyshire County Council said there is still extensive flooding (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
  6. ^ live updates on our blog throughout the day (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
  7. ^ get the latest road closures in our separate rolling blog here (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)