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Floods cause water shortages
22/07/2007 21:54 - (SA)
London - Parts of Britain are under water with flooding causing evacuations, water shortages and millions of pounds in damage.
Britain has experienced a dismal summer and on Friday more than a month's worth of rain fell in parts of England and Wales in just a few hours.
The effects were still being felt on Sunday, with rivers bursting their banks and water levels continuing to rise in some areas.
Monitoring the situation
More rain is expected in the coming week. The Association of British Insurers said damage could run into the hundreds of millions of pounds.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown was speaking with cabinet ministers and monitoring the situation.
In Gloucestershire, about 160km west of London, water was receding in some areas, but local police said the situation was worsening in others.
Hundreds of people gathered in the city of Gloucester by the banks of the River Severn on Sunday where the water level was rising.
The water supply for thousands of residents was at risk after flooding at the water treatment plant.
Officials said it could take at least another three days for the situation to be rectified.
Using boats to ferry residents around
Severn Trent's director of water services, Andy Smith said: "We're urgently appealing to customers to use water sparingly and to help one another to make the remaining supplies last longer."
He said mini-tanker trucks full of water will be parked at various sites around the county to get supplies to residents.
The town of Tewkesbury, 16km north of Gloucester is completely cut off by the flooding and police are using six boats to get residents in and out.
There is also flooding in parts of Oxfordshire, Worcestershire and Berkshire and severe warnings are in place across Britain.
- AP
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