UK floods wreak havoc: Over a THOUSAND properties ruined as emergency services launch rescue missions
More than 1,000 properties have been flooded
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More than 1,000 properties flooded across England as residents have been evacuated from their homes.
Hundreds of flood warnings and alerts have remained in place on Friday, with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issuing a cold weather alert for Saturday.
A minibus filled with children had to be rescued when their vehicle got stuck in flood waters on Friday morning.
The van was on the school run in Ongar, Essex, when the high waters got the better of it, before a Land Rover pulled the minibus free.
Businesses have also been flooded
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The River Trent has been particularly hard hit, with Caroline Douglass, the Environment Agency's flood director saying this water level is "some of the highest levels we've seen in 24 years".
She told the BBC that 1,000 properties have been flooded in England this week, with the figure expected to grow.
She added that a build-up over the last couple of months has led up to the difficult situation these areas are facing currently.
Douglass said: “We have had very wide rainfall.
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The water levels have risen drastically
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Traffic has been severely affected on certain roads due to flooding
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“Over November and December, following Storm Babet and Storm Ciaran, the ground was incredibly saturated right across the country, particularly in the east.
“But also that’s just been topped up over the pre-Christmas period. That rainfall from this week has just added to that, so there’s really nowhere for the water to go.
“The ground is completely saturated so in that situation we get more flooding and greater impacts than we’ve seen and probably in areas where people aren’t used to.”
Thursday saw some residents in Nottinghamshire get evacuated from their homes.
Some areas of the country have seen record-breaking levels of flooding
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Emergency services had to deploy rubber boats to evacuate residents
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Firefighters rushed to the scene to evacuate static residential park in Radcliffe.
An elderly resident with dementia was reportedly among those taken to safety, footage shared on social media has shown.
Some parts of England have seen their monthly ran average in the space of just five days.
Villages in Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedford and Wiltshire have all been particularly hard hit.
The UKHSA has issued a yellow cold weather alert from 9am on Saturday until 12pm on January 12.
Residents have had to be evacuated from their homes
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The Met Office said the cold snap will be caused by high pressure building over the UK into next week, with drivers urged to be cautious of ice.
It said temperatures will drop to -4C in parts of rural south-west England on Saturday night and -6C in rural areas along the Welsh border on Sunday night.
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