viernes, 29 de junio de 2012

News of newspaper Guardian

Questions.

What effects did the storm and landslides in the subway in England?
What said meteorologist Nick Prebble about the weather?

 

UK floods disrupt transport, cut power and damage homes

Rail services between Scotland and England cancelled as engineers work to restore power in northern England and Ireland.

Major traffic disruption is expected for a second day as severe storms and torrential rain cause flash floods in parts of the UK.
Rail services between Newcastle and Edinburgh were cancelled on Friday after heavy rain caused landslides and fallen trees to block lines.
On Thursday, one man died after being swept away by a flooded Shropshire stream, while roads were closed and hundreds of homes evacuated. Northern England, the Midlands, Scotland and Northern Ireland were worst hit by storms that brought lightning, giant hailstones, squalls and tornadoes. In contrast, southern parts of Britain enjoyed dry weather and temperatures of up to 28C.
East Coast Trains said on Friday it had cancelled all services between Newcastle and Edinburgh following floods in Cumbria and near Newcastle, and a landslip near Berwick-upon-Tweed. The West Coast line was also badly disrupted by the storms.
East Coast said there would be no replacement bus services or alternative transport arrangements between Scotland and England, adding: "Network Rail is working hard to fix the line quickly following various problems caused by the severe weather experienced yesterday. The line is unlikely to reopen until [Saturday] morning. Tickets valid today and yesterday will be valid on Saturday."
A London to Glasgow Virgin Trains service was stranded between two landslides in the Lake District for more than two hours on Thursday before being diverted. A fire broke out in the front coach of the train later in the journey, forcing the carriage to be evacuated near Lockerbie.
Swaths of the Midlands were hit by intense downpours, with some parts receiving 22mm of rain in one hour – a third of the average rainfall for the whole of June.
Tyneside faced heavy downpours and flooding that forced the closure of roads, the Metro network, the Tyne tunnel and Newcastle's MetroCentre. All Metro trains remained at a standstill overnight, while the Tyne tunnel was opened after the floods subsided.
There were widespread power cuts in the area, with 15,000 homes in darkness overnight as Northern Power Grid engineers worked to resolve the problem. North Tyneside council said it dealt with more than 200 flood-related incidents in the borough and that at least eight schools would be closed on Friday due to flooding or water damage.
Public buildings, including leisure centres and libraries were closed and were expected to remain so on Friday, while residents in Gateshead, Wallsend, West Monkseaton and Longbenton were evacuated from their homes as drainage systems became overwhelmed by rainfall.
Mike Ellis, a maths teacher, died after being swept away by floodwater in a stream at Bittlerley, near Ludlow, Shropshire, on Friday morning, while a 90-year-old man was among a number of people rescued from vehicles by fire crews following flash flooding in the Bridgnorth area of the county.
Northern Ireland and the Irish republic were also hit by floods, with a loss of power in more than 10,000 homes in the Cork area and 1,000 in Northern Ireland.
Hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged by flooding in the Cork suburb of Douglas, while parts of Belfast and County Antrim were also badly affected.
The Environment Agency has 10 flood warnings in place in the Midlands, north-east and north-west of the country, but the worst of the weather looks to be over.
Nick Prebble, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather forecasting arm of the Press Association, said: "Today there will be a mixture of sunshine and showers across the UK with temperatures cooling off.
"Most parts of Britain could experience the odd passing shower during the day, but the focus of the heavy downpours will be across Scotland. Northern parts could also have a few thunderstorms but the weather doesn't appear to be as severe as yesterday."
The floods came at the end of what may become one of the wettest Junes on record. More than 1,000 homes and businesses were flooded last weekend during torrential downpours across the north, with a month's rain falling in 24 hours in some places. Earlier in the month, heavy rain caused flash floods in west Wales

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