Heavy flooding sees passengers stranded for hours
Hundreds of passengers were stranded because of a landslide and a military helicopter was deployed when a river burst its banks following heavy rainfall which caused disruption to parts of the country.
A landslip near Corby, Northamptonshire, stopped an East Midlands Train from London to Nottingham on Thursday and saw a second train that came to rescue them also become stuck.
Around 400 passengers were stranded for up to eight hours before being evacuated and one person was treated at the scene in an ambulance by paramedics.
#EMTUpdate Due to a landslip north of Corby, four of our trains have been altered. All of our other London / Nottingham / Sheffield trains are unaffected by this and passengers should travel as normal. Full details are available here: https://t.co/W08FIOGB9E
— East Midlands Trains (@EMTrains) June 14, 2019
The train operator apologised to the customers involved in the incident, calling it a “challenging situation” due to rubble and serious flooding curbing rescue efforts.
Some East Midlands Trains routes were still affected on Friday morning with National Rail engineers on site to clear the line.
Elsewhere, emergency services rescued residents from their homes and a Royal Air Force helicopter was drafted in after a river burst its banks in Lincolnshire.
A Chinook helicopter was deployed in the town of Wainfleet to drop sand in an attempt to stop the flow of water after the River Steeping experienced a breach.
Seventy properties were hit by flooding, but Lincolnshire County Council warned that up to 720 could be affected after it said the town had more than two months of rain in just two days.
Properties in the area are expected to be without power until Friday afternoon.
The helicopter will operate alongside the multi-agency crews on the ground through the night to repair the single breach in the river Steeping bank #Wainfleet. Please avoid the area to allow them to carry out out their jobs as efficiently as possible. pic.twitter.com/vgrXp6WMPX
— Lincs Fire & Rescue (@LincsFireRescue) June 13, 2019
Some 17 flood warnings and 56 flood alerts were issued by the Environment Agency on Friday.
As of 3pm on Thursday, Chillingham Barns in Northumberland had seen the most rainfall, with 48mm falling throughout the day.
The Met Office has warned of more wet weather to come on Friday, and said sunshine and showers will form the backdrop for an unsettled weekend, with thundery outbreaks in places.
As of June 11, the UK has seen 55.9mm of total rainfall.
