Thousands of householders, business people and travellers suffered disruption after almost a month’s worth of rain fell within hours, raising fresh concerns that not enough was being spent on flood defences and prevention measures.
Homes and businesses were flooded across a swath of south-west England, schools were shut, dozens of roads closed and major rail lines blocked. By Monday evening rail travellers were being told not to try to travel to the West Country.
Conservative and Labour politicians questioned whether enough was being done to make sure infrastructure in the region was robust enough when extreme weather struck.
Among those forced to evacuate was the Devon and Cornwall police commissioner, Alison Hernandez, whose office in Exeter was flooded.
The middle section of of tarr steps has gone. Means two moors way and other routes are not possible @PathsENPA @ExmoorNPCs @SomersetCouncil pic.twitter.com/Sry8j8En3I
— RangersENPA (@RangersENPA) November 20, 2016
Though the worst of the deluge is thought to be over, more flooding was expected on Tuesday as rain that had fallen on high ground fed through rivers and streams on to lower, saturated ground.
The Met Office said the wettest place in the UK on Monday was Dunkeswell aerodrome in east Devon, where 50mm of rain fell in 24 hours. In the 48 hours up to 3pm on Monday, a total of 96mm fell on Exeter airport. Only 136mm falls on Devon in the whole of a typical November.
Coming hard on the heels of Storm Angus, which swept across the UK at the weekend, rivers struggled to cope with the latest deluge. As darkness fell on Monday evening there were 45 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected, with immediate action required – in place, mainly in Devon, Somerset and Dorset. There were another 146 alerts (flooding is possible, be prepared) across England and Wales.
Devon and Cornwall police attended more than 60 road collisions during the day on Monday. Train lines were blocked between Swindon in Wiltshire and Bristol and Exeter while Bristol Temple Meads station was briefly closed because of flooding.
The rail operator GWR said its services were affected by flooding at seven sites and asked passengers not to even try to travel to Devon or Cornwall.
The Labour MP for Exeter, Ben Bradshaw, said: “Once again the south-west has been severely affected by heavy rain. Our infrastructure has been shown to be unequal to the task of keeping things moving and functioning on what are becoming much more regular weather events.
“There have been lots of grandiose promises in recent years – following previous severe flooding and the rail line dropping into the sea in Dawlish – of investment to tackle this. Very few if any of these promises have so far come to fruition.”
Stuart Hughes, Devon county council cabinet member for highway management and flood prevention, said major schemes were being undertaken – including on the river Exe near Exeter and in the north Devon village of Braunton, where there was flooding at the weekend.
But he said he hoped the new chancellor, Philip Hammond, would invest more in flood defences. “The problem is that over the last few years we have been hit by austerity cuts,” he said. “We are really stretched.”
The government has been accused of failing to deliver on promises to fund natural flood management schemes, such as planting trees. A freedom of information request by Friends of the Earth to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs revealed there was no funding earmarked for natural flood management, despite ministers saying they would fund such measures.
Natural flood management schemes aim to slow the movement of water downstream to prevent flooding. This can involve creating water storage such as ponds, planting trees along water courses and restoring rivers to their original meandering path.
Hughes said Devon had been talking to farmers about how they could help and was encouraging them to grow less maize – which makes the soil compact and causes water to run off more quickly – and to plant trees.
Among the structures damaged over the weekend was the ancient clapper bridge Tarr Steps on Exmoor. The middle of the bridge, made up of stones weighing up to two tonnes, was washed away.
River Mole at South Molton pic.twitter.com/9l0vAmJOak
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) November 21, 2016
More than a dozen schools in Devon were closed. The headteacher of Otterton primary in the east of the county, Carron Saunders, said she felt she had to close the school when it was in danger of being cut off. “Only one road is open,” she said. “The other routes in are cut off.”
The flood warnings for Monday and Tuesday included the river Mole, and North Molton and South Molton in Devon.
Staff were clearing up at the Mill on the Mole residential park on Monday. Manager Stephen Antram said eight people were evacuated over the weekend but all were back at home on Monday. “It was quite a mess,” he said. “We had debris and mud and rubbish all over the place to sort out. The community has been brilliant. People came down to see if they could help.”
Devon floods - Stephen Antram clearing up at Mill on the Mole residential park. pic.twitter.com/B3YMZFkDMs
— steven morris (@stevenmorris20) November 21, 2016
Owner Mike Vowles said he had been to meetings where officials had discussed ways of trying to do work further upstream to try to stop the river Mole flooding.
“We last flooded in 2012. There was lot of talk about what to do but I think it was mostly just talk rather than action,” said Vowles. “But the Environment Agency does have a problem. These seem to be very localised events. It’s us today but it could be somewhere else next week and they haven’t got money to sort out every river, every stream in the country. I understand that.”
It was not only Devon that was affected. Residents in Bristol were shocked as flood water trapped cars in Whitchurch Lane. Office supply manager Lee Gitsham, 43, said: “Parked cars were submerged in water. There were two drivers who tried to get through but got stuck. It was at wing mirror level so it must have been about 2ft-3ft of water.
“I have lived in that area for nearly 10 years. I have never seen it as bad as that. We have had a bit of flooding where the water has covered the pavement but never where it covered car bonnets.”
The Environment Agency and Met Office said the flooding risk could continue into Tuesday but by Wednesday drier weather was expected.
