Oxford residents evacuated as UK flood waters rise
Thursday, 26 July 2007
LONDON, July 25 (Reuters): Emergency services evacuated hundreds of homes in the university city of Oxford Wednesday as the River Thames broke its banks and Britain grappled with its worst floods in 60 years.
Water levels rose steadily overnight and police said they had cleared up to 250 homes and gave people shelter in Oxford City's soccer stadium. Some power was cut but the defenses of the local electricity substation were not breached.
Along the Thames, residents in other towns were warned that the river could go on rising throughout the day.
In Gloucestershire, the western English county worst hit by the deluge, up to 350,000 people could be without running water for the next two weeks -- but the flood waters have started to recede along the River Severn.
The government has promised 10 million pounds ($21 million) in aid for the stricken areas -- in addition to the 14 million pounds initially pledged by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
"We are looking at 21st century extreme weather conditions," Brown told BBC Television Tuesday after a tense day monitoring how emergency services coped with the flooding that deluged huge swathes of central and western England.
Water levels rose steadily overnight and police said they had cleared up to 250 homes and gave people shelter in Oxford City's soccer stadium. Some power was cut but the defenses of the local electricity substation were not breached.
Along the Thames, residents in other towns were warned that the river could go on rising throughout the day.
In Gloucestershire, the western English county worst hit by the deluge, up to 350,000 people could be without running water for the next two weeks -- but the flood waters have started to recede along the River Severn.
The government has promised 10 million pounds ($21 million) in aid for the stricken areas -- in addition to the 14 million pounds initially pledged by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
"We are looking at 21st century extreme weather conditions," Brown told BBC Television Tuesday after a tense day monitoring how emergency services coped with the flooding that deluged huge swathes of central and western England.