Do you not see how the forces of nature have been let loose against the Western World. Never before have you witnessed such unusual weather striking the nations of the West with such devastation. This is what is styled in scripture as “The Chastisement.”
Two new turbulent weather systems were expected to bring high winds and rain in their wake, as the Met Office warned that a fresh wave of heavy rain would hit southern England and Wales from around 6am today.
Up to 1.6ins (40mm) of rain is predicted to fall in the south coast today, where many areas are already drenched from recent storms and floods.
And there is fresh misery for people living in the Somerset Levels, where two severe flood warnings remain in place signifying a danger to life.
avid Cameron took personal charge of the flooding crisis on Wednesday as the south coast was battered by 90mph storms and forecasters warned worse weather is on its way.
He chaired a meeting of the emergency committee Cobra to discuss a response to the flooding shortly after promising to do “whatever is required” and announcing an extra £100 million to help with the clear-up operation.
The Environment Agency’s embattled chairman Lord Smith, who has been heavily criticised for failing to visit the flood-hit Somerset Levels, did not attend the meeting.
The Prime Minister took action as:
— More than 150 properties were evacuated on the Somerset Levels and along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall in the teeth of a 90mph storm
— Cornwall’s rail link to the rest of the country was severed when a section of track was swept into the sea, which may take six weeks to repair
— Forecasters warned there will be no respite from the weather with a second Atlantic storm due to hit on Friday night and continuing into the weekend
— At least 44,000 homes in the South West were left without power when flying debris brought down electricity lines.
Mr Cameron said £75 million would be made available to fund repairs, with another £15 million for maintenance and £10 million for “urgent work” in Somerset.
Speaking a day after the Prince of Wales had described Somerset’s plight as a “tragedy”, 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.”
Moorland, where residents have been advised to evacuate their homes, as floods continue to cause chaos (SWNS.COM)
Lord Smith risked further criticism after it emerged he did not attend the Cobra meeting, even though he is understood to have attended such meetings in the past. Another member of the agency did attend.
An agency spokesman said: “Normally the person we send to Cobra would be the person who is in charge of incident response as they would be able to answer any question in any level of detail.” On Wednesday evening it was announced that Owen Paterson will not chair Thursday’s Cobra meeting due to urgent surgery for a detached retina.
Wednesday’s hurricane force storm devastated parts of the south coast with waves of up to 40ft.
Cornwall may be cut off from the rest of the country by rail for up to six weeks after a section of the main line from London Paddington to Penzance was swept into the sea. Train passengers were unable to travel west of Exeter after a 30-yard section of the harbour wall and railway track were washed away at Dawlish in Devon.
A Network Rail spokesman said: “With that line down everything west of Exeter is cut off.
“At the moment we are not able to carry out a proper assessment of the damage because it is too dangerous but initial estimates are that it will take at least four to six weeks to repair the railway.
Mr Cameron described pictures of the destroyed railway line as “shocking” and said: “My sympathy is with everyone affected by the ongoing storms which are causing misery to communities and businesses across the country.”
Jim Baker, Tony Berry and Tom Guppy help move furniture to higher ground in a house in Moorland (SWNS.COM)
Meanwhile on the Somerset Levels police used a helicopter to tell people to evacuate 120 properties as rain caused more flooding and the Environment Agency issued two severe “danger to life” flood warnings in the area.
Families living at Fordgate, Saltmoor and Northmoor were advised to leave their homes as rising water levels threatened to spill over a retaining wall.
This came despite Avon and Somerset Police announcing earlier in the week that three new pumps had been deployed at Fordgate and Moorland to help drain water.
The damaged railway line and sea wall being smashed by waves at Dawlish (RALPH RAYNER)
In Kingsand, Cornwall, 30 flooded homes were evacuated, with another 35 evacuated in Looe. People were also forced out of their houses in Torcross, Devon, as the high tide smashed the front of four properties.
There was damage to the harbours at Porthleven, St Mawes and Penzance in Cornwall and to properties at The Hoe in Plymouth.
As well as the two severe flood warnings in Somerset, the Environment Agency issued 68 “amber” flood warnings in the South West, south coast and Midlands, with a further 229 “yellow” flood alerts in southern England and Wales.
Gusts of up to 92mph were recorded in the Isles of Scilly on Tuesday night while in Berry Head, Devon, winds reached 91mph.
Wind speeds of more than 74mph are classed as hurricane force on the Beaufort scale.
Devon and Cornwall police received 300 emergency calls on Tuesday night when at least 44,000 homes in the south west suffered power cuts.
Western Power Distribution said 75 to 80mph winds had caused “airborne debris” to fly into overhead lines.
The incredible scene in Dawlish, Devon (SWNS.COM)
The Met Office warned there will be no respite from the weather with a second Atlantic storm due to hit on Friday night and continue into the weekend.
Heavy rain will continue to swamp the country before the second storm sweeps in.