It’s probably not hit the news over in the States because rain in the UK is hardly a new thing, but here in England and in Wales we’ve got some serious wet weather issues going on at the moment. The country is under water in many places with rivers bursting banks and more rain still to come. A young man from Hull has died trying to help his Grandfather clear a drain and a teenage boy has been swept away.
The river that flows by me (the Severn) hasn’t flooded yet, but lower Ironbridge/Coalbrookdale — which are just down the road — are in serious trouble after a nearby brook ‘overflowed’. With that and the water from the ground it’s caused floods around the school and nearby houses putting older residents in danger.
So, this is just a little message to all of my UK readers as well as their family and friends: stay safe, stay well and stay dry. Don’t go out unless you absolutely have to and don’t take silly risks!
25 Jun at 9:44 pm
Aww, my. That’s terrible. :( I hope you and everyone else in the UK are safe. Every spring — in the town I used to live in — the river would flood due to the heavy amounts of snow that we had. Some years, it would flood up to some people’s doors and the children wouldn’t be able to go to school dry. It’s so bad.
25 Jun at 9:47 pm
Sorry about the double post, but, something weird happened in my comment and the characters “â??” came up. Um… ignore those.
25 Jun at 9:53 pm
Heh, you stay safe too ;D All the schools are closed here..all flooded. Eek. Our area is mainly fine though, luckily.
25 Jun at 10:15 pm
*Is nice and dry* No floods ‘ere like. Don’t want to speak too soon though, oops… Although we’re not really near any rivers so we should be ok… *Crosses fingers*
25 Jun at 10:21 pm
And it is coming to Denmark too… At the moment it is raining hard. I am sad that people get hurt – while we just sit here at home and think the rain against the windows is cozy. I thought it was supposed to be summer though… Stay safe!
25 Jun at 10:30 pm
It allllways floods in York. Nothing new here! But we wanted to go to the beach today and couldn’t in fear of lack of trains if lines flooded!
25 Jun at 10:48 pm
Ugh, sorry to hear all that. Weather has been acting crazy all over. South-East Europe is being plagued by a heatwave. I’m in the middle. One week it’s HOT, and the next it’ll be pouring down like crazy. Let’s hope it will not get to flooding.
25 Jun at 11:28 pm
It’s all hot and dry where I live (California). Want to trade some weather? =P
25 Jun at 11:30 pm
No, as far as I know, the news hasn’t really reached the States. But that is serious, more so when the Connecticut river flooded here a while back. Hopefully, there will be an end in sight.
25 Jun at 11:34 pm
Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize that it was that bad over there. My friend, Rhea, in Ireland, didn’t tell me all this. She said that it was raining, but not this bad. Here in the midwest of the states we are getting lots of rain but nothing like that. My thoughts are with you.
26 Jun at 12:01 am
That’s really sad. That article says a 68-year-old man died just getting out of his car… sounds like it’s pretty bad over there. I hope everyone stays safe.
26 Jun at 4:46 am
I hope no more flooding happens. In California we need some of that rain badly. But what I came here for was to tell you that http://letters-to-you.com might cheer you up from your rainy gloom. ;)
26 Jun at 6:08 am
Last time I heard from my auntie (she lives up in Grimsby) the water levels was almost up to her conservatory door. I haven’t heard from her since but hopefully she’ll be fine..
26 Jun at 7:13 am
How is it looking this morning? You’re not that far away from me, and we’ve got bright sunshine!
26 Jun at 8:11 am
We have rain! *waves hand* We do! We do! Not so much that it’s flooding though… We flooded a few years ago. Silly canal boat ended up in the train station. Haha!
26 Jun at 8:12 am
The rain sucks. I was sitting/sleeping in my car yesterday lunchtime, windows slightly ajar, sun a-shining, birds twittering etc. I’m awakened by a huge clap of thunder and a wet shoulder. Ugh.
26 Jun at 8:15 am
@Rhys: sunshine for us this morning too, but it’s going to take a few dry days to get rid of the mass of water at the bottom of Ironbridge.
26 Jun at 8:15 am
This morning isn’t looking too bad, actually it’s quite sunny with a nice blue sky :) Yeah people would probably assume these past few days have been typical British weather but it’s worse. Hopefully no more people get hurt and the weather brightens. Just checked the weather and it’s meant to be sunny today with a maximum high of 14. Sounds great but these days the weather forcast has been “a little” off.
26 Jun at 9:03 am
We’ve had a few flood warnings here in Manchester, and most of the roads near me are under a couple inches of water at least, but it doesn’t seem to have risen much higher overnight. Stay safe Jem and other UK readers!
26 Jun at 10:06 am
I heared about it on the news here in Holland. I hope things will look up for everyone in the UK soon. We have a lot of rain here too but not nearly as bad as over there and I hope it stays that way
26 Jun at 10:20 am
In Rotherham (Yorkshire), a dam is on the verge of collapsing after the torrential rain. It’s terrifying. It’s something I’d expect in January, not June.
26 Jun at 11:07 am
I watched the news last night (BBC News 24 and Sky News) with amazement as I saw the pictures on the screen – I’m so glad I’m on the other side of the Pennines (Preston, in Lancashire). Then again, I live right near the River Ribble, and if we get much more rain soon, that might breach.
26 Jun at 3:26 pm
I live in Chesterfield (Derbyshire, midlands) and it’s terrible here! Both the rivers that go through here have gone over their banks and no one could get to school today (YES!) – not that it’s open for my year – it acted as a sort of hostel center last night for people whos houses were flooded so they’ve only let the younger kids in today. Of course, that’s utterly stupid, because if anyone was to drown it would be the little’ens. People are being hele-lifted out of their homes in Rotherham apparently. Meh.
26 Jun at 4:23 pm
That is abysmally sad. I live in the United States, so cross-Atlantic news doesn’t reach us unless it’s terrorism-related, but I hope the UK is getting by with the awful flooding..
26 Jun at 4:34 pm
I am so glad I live in North England rather than South England, because even though the weather is shitty and rainy and cold, despite the fact it is nearly July. But we do not have any serious water problems.
26 Jun at 6:09 pm
haha well you’ve seen pictures of the carnage where I am… silly vanishing roads!
26 Jun at 6:41 pm
Let it be floods instead of deserts unless no one gets hurt. I’m afraid of those global warming theories.
26 Jun at 8:26 pm
Silly risks? I wonder if spending the weekend camping in Locko Park, Derbyshire counts as a silly risk. Did it last weekend, going again this weekend. You can’t stop me evil weather gods, I’m too hardcore!
26 Jun at 8:29 pm
Yes, the brilliant british weather never lets us down right? And typically the wettest day had to fall on the day I forgot a jumper, so I was walking home in a t-shirt in the rain. It is really bad though, thankfully a bit of sun today. Terrible that theres been flooding and stuff..scary too! *sarcasm* Go Global warming.
26 Jun at 8:37 pm
@Jane: the floods are in the north of England! They’re in Yorkshire/Shropshire, mostly…
26 Jun at 8:45 pm
^ Shropshire is Midlands though, not North :P
26 Jun at 9:36 pm
Im finding it quite dry down here in the south-east somewhat. No flooding, just occasional showers. Hope you stay safe Jem, and everyone in the north/mid-lands/anywhere that is flooding!
27 Jun at 3:09 am
Aww… we get a lot of rain here in Indiana, US during certain times of the year, but other times it is scorching hot! For example, today was 90 degrees Fahrenheit, then out of nowhere it started to pour for many long hours! I feel your pain Jem… Stay dry!
27 Jun at 8:10 am
The same sort of thing happened near me a few weeks ago :( I hope everyone stays safe and their properties don’t acquire too much damage.
27 Jun at 3:39 pm
Ah, only just… We’re more midlands than you! *fakes a dudlaaaaaay accent* Not that I’m even in Dudley, I’ll have you know. I’m much posher than that.