UK NEWSNOW HURRICANE HAVOC WILL HIT BRITAIN

FLOODS: Streets close to York city centre are under a deluge of water

Monday September 8,2008
By Mark Reynolds Have your say(0)
THE tail-end of a hurricane is set to batter Britain after a killer storm at the weekend claimed eight lives and caused millions of pounds of damage.

Howling gales and a month’s worth of rain lashed the country in just 48 hours, but last night Met Office experts warned that after a short respite worse is to come.

The remnants of Hurricane Hanna, blowing in from across the Atlantic, is expected to hit Britain on Thursday.

More than 100 flood warnings are already in place across the country and forecasters fear the next belt of torrential rain and high winds will leave even more areas under water – costing many more householders their homes.

A Met Office spokesman said: “The system coming in contains bits left over from the tropical storm Hanna.

“There will be two waves of rain, particularly affecting west Wales, Cumbria, Northern Ireland and south-west Scotland on Tuesday and Thursday.”

Phil Lewes & Tim Jones battled fast flowing water to rescue this ram in Herefordshire

The destructive power of the storm at the weekend brought widespread carnage, particularly to the South-west, North-west and the North-east of the country.

But more, perhaps worse, is to come for thousands as the storm which began thousands of miles away as Hurricane Hanna hits the UK.

Tom Defty, of forecasters metservice.co.uk, said: “The National Hurricane Center in the US is warning that what remains of Hanna will hit the UK by Thursday, bringing 45-50 mph winds and heavy rain.

The system coming in contains bits left over from the tropical storm Hanna.
Met Office

“Although it will no longer be tropical storm strength, it will nevertheless be a very heavy autumnal storm.

“It is set to bring a lot of rain to areas which have already been deluged.” Hanna, which has caused widespread damage in the Caribbean, is currently lessening in intensity as it approaches Britain.

But with many areas of the country already under water, further torrential rain is expected to cause chaos for the emergency services as flooding spreads.

“The exact course of the storm cannot yet be accurately plotted, but at present it looks set to hit Northern Ireland and Scotland on Thursday.