Havoc! As floods hit new areas, 108mph winds cause power cuts, shut motorways and force passengers off trains. Now prepare for a month's rain in two days. By Mark Duell and Ray Massey and Sam Webb Published: 09:31 GMT, 12 February 2014 | Updated: 09:32 GMT, 13 February 2014 Britain was yesterday battered by a ‘Wild Wednesday’ of severe storms and rising water levels, with no prospect of an end to the misery in sight.
Motorways were flooded, major road bridges closed and rail lines offered limited - if any - services, stranding travellers and bringing the country to a halt. The storm has claimed at least one life, a man in his 70s, who was electrocuted while attempting to move a tree which brought down power cables. Wiltshire Police said last night that the man had died at around 3.20pm near Chippenham. A force spokesman said: 'Just after 3.10pm we were called to reports of a tree having brought down power cables in Bremhill in Calne.
Scroll down for videos and petition Horrendous conditions: Traffic makes its way along Blackpool Promenade in Lancashire during high winds Making a splash: Huge waves batter the seafront at Southsea, Hampshire. Minister commissions report into battered Dawlish line alternative. Comments (3) The Government could fund a new rail line serving Devon and Cornwall after the track slipped into the sea at Dawlish.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin today announced a “rigorous review” of alternatives to the coastal Great Western line, raising hopes of dusting off a £100 million inland link to avoid storm damage. Engineers believe the Dawlish line will be down for at least six weeks amid warnings major delays on the only rail route into Devon and Cornwall will cost the regional economy tens of millions of pounds every week. Meanwhile, ministers revealed the Army could be called in to help repair the track, and MPs on the Transport Select Committee announced a Commons probe into the South West rail network.
MPs in the region argue re-routing a section of the Brunel-designed line would cost just a fraction of the £50 billion the Government is prepared to pump into the HS2 railway between London and the north. Families in Dawlish, Devon, evacuated from their homes as waves destroy coastal defences. Hamlets on Somerset Levels turned into 'Ghost Villages' as homes evacuated amid rising flood watersHouseholders attempting to stay put were warned by loudspeakers on police helicopters of 'imminent threat to life'Royal Marines have been assisting with sandbag defences in the flood-hit region where more rain is expectedDowning Street said around 8,000 properties were yesterday without power due to another violent Atlantic stormWinds of up to 92mph caused 'airborne debris' to fly into overhead lines and made repairs difficultGusts of up to 70mph were expected inland across parts of south Wales, Devon and Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset By James Rush and Martin Robinson and Rob Cooper and Matt Chorley and Damien Gayle Published: 07:00 GMT, 5 February 2014 | Updated: 13:33 GMT, 7 February 2014 Hamlets on the Somerset Levels were being turned into ‘ghost villages’ yesterday as more homes were evacuated amid rising flood waters, as the military were drafted in last night to help with flood defences.
PICTURES: Devon and Cornwall could be cut off for six months by rail line 'disaster' at Dawlish. Comments (5) Political leaders have demanded immediate state aid after the rail link into the Westcountry was severed, potentially isolating the region for six months.
Council chiefs and MPs said it is now time to take action to improve resilience after powerful waves left tracks at Dawlish “hanging by a thread” and homes teetering on the brink of disaster. The Prime Minister pledged an extra £100 million to tackle the aftermath of the devastating floods, promising to look at rail repairs “very urgently”, while a Department for Transport source last night told the Western Morning News that exploring an alternative route to the coastal line was now on the table. It came after high winds, rain and high tides combined again to deliver yet another night of misery, tearing down more than 70 trees and leaving tens of thousands without power in the South West.