UK News 01-11-2000 Flood Devastation Spreads who: The Environment Agency what: Issues 33 severe weather warnings on 19 rivers when: Yesterday snippet: "Large parts of the country were warned to expect continued misery from flooding later this week," reports The Independent, "after forecasters said further bouts of heavy rain would hit Britain tonight." "The rainfall total for October was expected to be the second highest since records began in 1766," says The Express. "With yesterday`s rainfall still to be calculated, Britain had been soaked by 182mm (more than seven inches) of rain." The flood devasation spread northwards across England and Wales yesterday. The river Severn rose to its highest level since 1960. The River Ouse in York rose over 16 feet, just inches below the crisis level feared by local authorities, threatening hundreds of families with evacuation. Parts of Leeds are flooded and heavy rain is expected in the north today. Bath and Shrewsbury are also under threat and residents of Kent, Sussex and the West Country are warned that more rain is expected. Miles of railway track in the West Country, south Wales and the North-west has been flooded with water. But in London and the South East, Three Valleys Water has issued three million families with "leaflets telling them to SAVE water". Reportedly, flooding has caused pumping stations to fail. "This is deadly serious," said a spokeswoman. "It`s not a joke." [... more]

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