Storms raise risk of more U.K. flooding

Posted on Jul 6, 2012 in Top News | 0 comments

Parts of England, for the second time in two months, are expected to receive more than month’s worth of rain in a day, weather forecasters said Friday.

The Environment Agency’s Pete Fox told the BBC 5 million homes are at risk of flooding in large parts of England and Wales.

He said those in immediate risk are the north Midlands and the Pennines.

“We don’t want people to worry right now but we want people to take a look at our Web site to work out if they are at risk of flooding,” he said.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued flood warnings in Tayside, Ayrshire and Arran, and the Met Office issued a warning for people in the southeastern tip of Northern Ireland to be aware of flooding.

A BBC report said the unusually heavy rains have occurred because the country is situated beneath an accelerating part of the 6-mile high jet stream — a wind that blows around the planet. The jet stream has caused a low pressure center increasing the likelihood of rain.

The United Kingdom had its wettest June since weather record-keeping began in 1910, with more than a month’s worth of rain falling in 24 hours in West Yorkshire. About 500 homes and businesses were damaged by flooding.

Copyright 2012 by United Press International