A yellow weather warning for more heavy rain has been issued for Tuesday, after downpours and thunderstorms caused flooding across England, closing schools, damaging homes and swamping roads and railways on Monday.
Downpours on Sunday night and Monday morning drenched parts of the nation, with the Met Office recording more than a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours in some locations.
Several schools in Bedfordshire were forced to shut as water poured into buildings. A handful of schools in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire also closed.
AFC Wimbledon’s Carabao Cup tie against Newcastle United on Tuesday night has been postponed after the League Two club’s ground was flooded. A large sinkhole appeared on the London pitch.
On Tuesday morning, 32 Environment Agency flood warnings — which means that flooding is expected — were in place for England.
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National Highways said it expected the A421 in Bedfordshire to remain closed on Tuesday in both directions between the A6 Bedford and M1 J13 near Marston Moretaine, and that it “cannot provide a timeline for the road to reopen”.
The northbound A5 between the A421 in Bletchley and Great Holm at Milton Keynes was closed by rising water levels after one lane had been opened overnight.
Train services were also affected, as flooding between Rugby and Milton Keynes Central disrupted Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway, according to National Rail.
The areas affected include Cheltenham, Milton Keynes, Leighton Buzzard and Luton in Bedfordshire and areas surrounding the River Medway and it tributaries in Kent.
Extraordinary pictures had shown cars submerged and cyclists pedalling through surface flooding as roads resembled rivers.
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According to the Environment Agency, at least 45 properties were flooded in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Kent. Hertfordshire county council said it had received 260 flood reports.
An amber weather warning for heavy rain and flooding was issued for the south Midlands, southern and southwest England as residents grappled with risks to property and travel delays.
Firefighters attended incidents in areas including Ruislip, Uxbridge, Wimbledon and Carshalton. The service said these had included rescuing people trapped in cars, assisting people from their homes and responding to flooding in underground stations, roads, houses and workplaces.
Dozens of people rushed to a farm in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, to save animals on Sunday evening after it was flooded. Joanna Johnson said that her miniature ponies had to swim out of the floodwater and sheep were dragged to safety overnight by members of the community and the emergency services.
She said: “It was like a river coming off the A421, and then the pond burst and within 15 minutes the entire farm was under water. I put a message out online and the villagers flocked here so fast. I felt so helpless.
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“The animals are alive at the moment, I’m now desperately trying to find a piece of land I can leave them on over the winter where they will be safe.”
Tim Maher, of Northamptonshire, said he had put up a flood barrier in an attempt to protect his home overnight. Maher and his partner, Carol Findon, saw their home partially submerged, while other houses in their street also suffered damage.
Maher said: “We’ve had some damage to the carpets, settees and other furniture. The most difficult bit will be drying out the structure. We haven’t had much sleep and at least eight houses on our road have been impacted. It would be nice to get a permanent solution to this problem.”
A resident in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, was facing the prospect of paying to fix the damage to her home after discovering her insurance policy did not cover floods. Sheryl Carter told Sky News: “I don’t even want to think about it, to be honest. I don’t know if it needs replacing, what needs replacing, we haven’t got that far yet. But it’s going to cost us.”
The London Fire Brigade said its units had been rescuing people trapped in cars and helping residents in their homes. Firefighters had responded to about 350 calls for help across the capital by Monday afternoon.
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Some parts of London and nearby counties faced 60mm of rain between midnight and 8am on Monday, leading to travel delays for commuters.
There were severe delays on the London Underground and rail passengers faced disruption on Southeastern, Great Northern, Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink services as train tracks were flooded.
The Environment Agency deployed teams “out on the ground” in response to flooding. Sarah Cook, the flood duty manager, urged people to take extra caution with their journeys. “We urge people to plan their journeys carefully, follow the advice of local emergency services on the roads and not to drive through floodwater — it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car,” she said. “People should check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation.”
Motorists also suffered setbacks as police confirmed multiple road closures in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire due to “substantial flooding”.
Flooding in parts of Bedfordshire reached knee-height levels, impacting small businesses and forcing “a big clean-up”.
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A hairdresser on High Street South in Dunstable said her shop was “full of mud” when staff arrived on Monday morning. Kirsty Brewer, 31, said: “It started yesterday [Sunday] afternoon when the whole of Dunstable was flooded. It was up to your knee deep; the road comes down so we’re sitting in a bit of a well.”
AFC Wimbledon fans launched an emergency fundraiser to help the club with repair costs. Graham Stacey, a supporter, wrote on the fundraising page: “The money raised will go towards helping the club deal with any costs associated with the floods and could range from repairs to pump hire to rental of an alternative venue — that will be decided by the club. AFC Wimbledon is a fan-owned club and the ability to play games in front of crowds is crucial to its existence.”
Dan Harris, a deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, warned the wet conditions would continue. He said: “Through Wednesday and Thursday, unsettled weather is set to return as further frontal systems move in from the Atlantic, bringing showers or longer spells of rain to many parts of the UK and a chance of strong winds in a few places.”
