UK News 30-10-2000 Storms Batter England and Wales who: The Met Office what: Say where: BOGNOR REGIS when: Yesterday snippet: "Two people died yesterday as gales and torrential rain swept across the country," reports The Telegraph, "disrupting travel and threatening further flooding in southern England." A woman motorist was killed by a falling tree on the A3 near Hindhead, Surrey and another died when she fell into a fast-flowing waterfall in Powys. But the worst hit area was Bognor Regis in Sussex, says The Express, where a tornado caused an estimated £5million of damage. "More than 500 houses suffered damage and cars were smashed and overturned by the 110mph twister which left a man and a woman with facial injuries from flying glass," reports Edward Black. "Two women were also seriously injured when a caravan was lifted into the air and dropped on to another parked nearby." The Star talks to 45 year-old motorist Tony Lucas whose vehicle was caught in the 70ft-wide twister. "The wind lifted my car and we lost all contact with the ground," he says. "It was terrifying. Instead of going straight on we were going sideways. Then we landed with a bump on the opposite side of the road." Flood alerts have been issued and the Met Office is expecting more bad weather today. "It`s time to batten down the hatches," says a spokesman in The Mirror, comparing the gales to the devastating storms of 1987 which caused £1billion in damage. "We`ve got a lot of very strong winds on the way." [... more]

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