Roads flood and trees fall as Storm Claudia hits
When Storm Claudia hit the West Midlands, public transport was disrupted and drivers struggled to wade through surface water.
After Friday’s heavy rain, the roads were flooded with vehicles passing through deep waters, and train services were also disrupted due to floods and trees on the lines. A number of events such as parkruns have been cancelled.
Seven flood warnings remain in place across the region, where flooding is expected, as well as 15 less severe flood warnings.
While flood barriers are being removed in Bewdley, Worcestershire, Shropshire Council said barriers at Frankwell in Shrewsbury will be erected first thing on Saturday.
Commuters in Birmingham experienced transportation problems on Friday and into Saturday.
Buses were affected by a passenger who reported that floodwater in the Bournville Lane tunnel had begun to flood the floor of the number 27 bus.
Elsewhere, vehicles slowly waded through water along Stratford Road at Sparkhill and Green Road at Hall Green, with water levels reaching more than 4 ft (1.22 m).
In Herefordshire, floodwaters flowed “like a river” through Ewyas Harold, damaging homes and businesses.
The village’s fire station said floods were at record levels and crews were busy with incidents in the center all night.
Sophie Wareing, owner of the village shop, said much of her stock had been ruined but the clean-up efforts “showed the community spirit”.
“We didn’t even put up a defense, people just showed up,” he added.
Ms Wareing said it was “important” the shop reopened as soon as possible as many older people relied on it.
Sophie Wareing owns the village shop in Ewyas Harold and said it should reopen as soon as possible [BBC]
Claire, one of the residents who has lived in Ewyas Harold all her life, said she and other volunteers were trained by the local fire brigade to respond to flooding.
He said the situation changed “dramatically” when the water breached the barrier while he was pumping water from The Dog pub. “The approach of ‘let’s see if we can save it, now we need to get people out’ changed very quickly.”
“[The water] It was up to his waist and the current was huge.
“We had to hold each other up to the water to avoid being swept away by the current,” he added.
Herefordshire firefighters also assisted with rescue efforts in Monmouth. South Wales Rescue service declares a major incident due to severe and widespread flooding.
Mark Benthan, landlord of The Bridge Inn in Michaelchurch Ecclesley, Herefordshire, said: “Twelve hours ago it was so bad, there was water coming through the walls, the kind you only see once in living memory.”
But he added that he plans to reopen on Saturday afternoon after a “massive rally tour” and working through the night.
There were fears that parts of Worcestershire, which were devastated by flooding in November last year, would be badly affected again, but retired Environment Agency manager Dave Throup said: Tenbury said Wells “dodged a bullet”.
“A twenty-mile difference in the orientation of the rain belt would have been a very different outcome,” he said on social media, warning that river levels were already high.
In Warwickshire, police warned of road closures and warned drivers not to drive through floodwater.
Water at Kenilworth Ford, where Finham Stream flows past Kenilworth Castle and into Abbey Fields, has reached the 4 ft (1.22 m) mark.
Clive Boulstridge, who grew up in the area, said he had not seen water levels this high in “over a decade”.
Other roads closed in the borough include Princes Drive in Leamington Spa, where two cars were stranded, and the A44 near Little Compton, where a fallen tree blocked the road.
West Midlands Railway has warned that cuts to services will continue across the region on Saturday.
The train provider said buses were running in place of trains between Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley, with the rail replacement service expected to continue until 15:00 GMT due to damage to overhead power cables.
A series of Parkruns across the West Midlands scheduled to take place at 09:00 GMT on Saturday have been cancelled.
Beacon Parkrun in Lichfield was canceled early on Saturday morning due to the course being flooded and Cannock Chase Parkrun was also canceled due to fallen trees blocking the course.
Follow BBC Hereford and Worcester BBC Voices, Facebook, X And instagram.
