UK floods: Rescue boat take villagers to buy supplies
- Published
Roads into Muchelney, near Langport, have been flooded for six days since heavy rain fell
About 100 people are being taken by boat to get food after floods trapped them in their Somerset village.
Roads into Muchelney, near Langport, have been flooded for six days since heavy rain fell.
remain in place in England and Wales as water-ravaged towns begin to clear up.
Although the weather has improved, the Environment Agency (EA) said there was a possibility of more flooding for the next two days as rivers recede.
It has warned of flooding in places including Gloucester, Oxford, Abingdon and York and raised concerns about slow-responding rivers including the Thames, Trent and Severn.
An EA spokesman said: "After several days of heavy rain, the ground is saturated and floodwater from small watercourses continues to flow into larger rivers like the Thames."
The Met Office said the weather is set to be mainly dry for most of the UK for the next few days.
In other developments:
In north Wales, a charity fund has been set up as hundreds of people spent the night away from their homes after parts of the River Elwy burst its banks
An inquest has been opened and adjourned after the body of an elderly woman was discovered inside a flooded home in the Tair Felin area of north Wales
Water levels in rivers across North Yorkshire appear to have reached their peak
In Shropshire, firefighters rescued a man from a car stuck in flood water
Temporary defences have been deployed between Mill Green and the Causeway in Caversham, Reading, to protect a block of flats
Prime Minister David Cameron has paid tribute to the emergency services and "good neighbours" who have helped tackle flooding
The village where residents were stranded is near the River Parrett which burst its banks.
Resident Tina Winter said although homes were not flooded, they were concerned about a lack of supplies.
Rescue workers arrived by boat and ferried them to shops to buy food and medicines.
JCB escape
Ms Winter, whose home is higher up in the centre of the village, said: "It hasn't changed at all (since the area first flooded last week), there is no access into or out of the village. We are completely stranded."
She said although she had enough food, her 80-year-old father who lives nearby had needed inhalers.
Her sons left the village on Monday via a JCB, however they were not able to return later in the day because the water had continued to rise.
The only access to the village is now by boat.
"It has happened before, but never to the point where we couldn't get out with something," Ms Winter said.
"I don't think people were aware of how deep the water is, and if it's windy it can be quite dangerous coming across the floodwater."
Elsewhere, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service rescued a man who was stuck on the roof of his car that was stuck in floodwater on the A361 in Burrowbridge.
A substantial blockade has now been put in place for this road as people have been continuing to drive through the closure signs.
A small number of properties in the Northmoor area of Sedgemoor have been identified as being at significant risk of flooding from 22:00 GMT on Wednesday until Friday evening.
A team has been set up to advise and assist the residents with evacuation of the affected properties.
- Published28 November 2012
- Published27 November 2012
- Published26 November 2012