Extreme weather hits southeast Europe
Afp, London
Extreme weather hit Europe Saturday as the death toll from a heat wave in Romania, Austria and Bulgaria rose to 18 and hundreds faced another night of misery in flood-drenched England. A total of 11 people have now died in Romania amid a heat wave, which led to five deaths in Austria and two in Bulgaria. In England, meanwhile, the problem was not heat but rain, causing the second serious outbreak of flooding within a month. People in many parts of the country were being advised not to travel, while Prime Minister Gordon Brown stepped in to praise the "superb" work of the armed forces and emergency services tasked with handling the response. Rail company First Great Western told would-be passengers to stay at home, while thousands of motorists were stranded for hours as motorways in some parts of the country came to a standstill. Weather forecasters the Met Office had severe weather warnings in place across a thick band of south-eastern and eastern England. And in Worcestershire, in the badly hit west central of the country, more than 1,000 people were spending Saturday night in temporary accommodation. Some 2,000 in the region slept away from home Friday night. Military helicopters have rescued more than 100 people from house rooftops, caravan parks and a bridge as well as strips of land cut off by water since rains hit on Friday, rescue officials said. At Stratford-upon-Avon in central England, the Royal Shakespeare Company was forced to cancel two performances after its riverside theatre was flooded. A spokesman for forecaster MeteoGroup said that more storms were looming later Saturday and Sunday, although on a less severe scale.
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Swans paddle past the Northwick Hotel yesterday in Evesham, Worcestershire following the floods that have crippled areas of England. Merseyside Fire and Rescue service have been working on rescuing residents from their homes as the River Avon burst its banks. PHOTO: AFP |
