Wiggy's World

Was busy browsing a forum, and came across this, a story on the Daily Mail site!!! LINK

A town was cut off by floodwater yesterday after torrential overnight storms – which caused 6ft high drifts of hailstones.

More than 100 people were evacuated from their homes in Ottery St Mary, Devon, and 25 were airlifted to safety or rescued by firefighters.

Cars were buried up to their roofs in hailstones and the freezing conditions caused floodwater to form treacherous icy patches, causing dozens of car accidents.

Overwhelmed: Cars buried under three feet of hail stones in the town of Ottery St Mary

One pregnant woman went into labour after a car crash on the A30 and a fire engine got stuck in a 6ft drift of hailstones on the way to a rescue.

Emergency services were inundated with over 150 calls from terrified people trapped in their homes and vehicles by flood water which reached 5ft high in places.

After a day of heavy rain on Wednesday more than three inches of rain and hail fell between 6pm and 8am yesterday morning.

Cars were buried up to their roofs in hail and the freezing conditions caused floodwater to form treacherous icy patches

It is thought the situation became so severe because hail stones blocked drains and caused serious flooding as more rain fell.

The most severe weather hit just after midnight on Thursday but by 5am the entire town was cut off and coastguards scrambled helicopters to airlift residents.

Emergency crews also sent in jeeps and fire appliances and BOATS to take residents to an evacuation centre at the local hospital.

The aftermath: Piles of hailstones lie beside two parked cars in Ottery St Mary

Dozens of road traffic accidents were reported, including one which caused a pregnant woman to give birth in the back of her car.

One fire appliance became stuck in a 6ft drift and a farmer was reported to have lost 500 sheep in a field that was buried under several feet of hail and sleet.

Susanne Reed from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the situation was ‘absolute chaos’ and the worst in 25 years.

Mobile phone picture of the scene in Ottery St Mary, East Devon, where severe rain and a heavy hailstorm during the night caused huge floods and in some places 6ft hail drifts

She said: ‘It has been absolute chaos. It started just after midnight when we were out rescuing people stuck in their cars in flood water.

‘It got worse and worse and one of our own crews got stuck in a 6ft hail drift.

‘We have been rescuing people constantly and cannot yet estimate how many have been helped to safety.’  Tony Fabry who runs the town’s post office, said: ‘At one point I was watching beer barrels, sandwich boards and even a children’s slide floating down the road.

‘It was absolutely horrendous. It was a nightmare and it happened so quickly. The drains became blocked with hail and so when the snow melted it was just a deluge.’  The worst hit areas were Ottery St Mary and the surrounding villages of Awliscombe, Rockbeare and Newton.

An evacuation centre was set up at Ottery St Mary Hospital, where people who were flooded out of their homes received care and shelter.

Flooded out: Six feet of hailstones overnight blocked drains causing extensive flooding with 100 people including a woman in labour evacuated to the town’s hospital

Police said a car accident on the A30 at Honiton resulted in a pregnant lady going into labour.   She was picked up by ambulance and it is thought she later gave birth at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

Coastguards and RAF Search and Rescue helicopters were scrambled and land vehicles were used to evacuate hundreds of people from their flooded homes, including elderly and disabled residents, children and several animals.

Eleven members of a volunteer crew from Portland Coastguard in a 4×4 rescued a family-of-three from their flood-hit bungalow and took them to the safety of a local fire station.

One motorist had a miracle escape after losing control of their vehicle when it started taking in water between Honiton and Cullompton, Devon.

There were also a series of weather-related crashes on the A30 and for safety reasons the road was closed from Junction 29 of the M5 to Monkton.

The freak hailstorm swept through the small village leaving giant puddles for motorists and pedestrians to negotiate

Police say scores of minor roads in East Devon were closed by landslips, standing water or flood damage and motorists were urged not to make journeys.

The town had been preparing for a carnival this weekend, ahead of its annual Tar Barrel Rolling festival on 5 November – but its bonfire was flooded out.

Resident Clara Pedmore said ‘There is 2ft 6ins of water on the road. I can’t get out of the house.

‘One farms nearby has lost about 500 sheep which were out in fields which are now completely underwater.’  Several roads were still closed yesterday or described as ‘barely passable’ – with fire crews advising the public to exercise ‘extreme caution’.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said they were also ‘very concerned’ about the risk of further flooding along the South Devon Coast at Beesands, Torcross, Slapton, Torbay and Dawlish.

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: ‘All roads in East Devon are treacherous due to weather, standing water and hedge and bank slippages.

‘We are urging drivers to travel with extreme care, especially on back roads or low lying roads.

‘The worst of the flooding is centred on Ottery St Mary where emergency services are using boats to rescue residents from homes. Water in the town is reported to be up to 5ft deep.’

Rescue crews were hampered by the extreme weather conditions which made the roads impassable through deep snow and floodwater and saw one 38ft lorry stuck in a drift.

There were still 11 flood warnings in place yesterday including on the Rivers Axe, Coly, Culm, Isle, Yarty, Clyst and Otter but police say the levels were beginning to subside.

Ottery St Mary, population 7,000, is the birthplace of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and is renowned for its thatched cottages and picturesque winding streets.