A month of rain in a day - and more to come

PEOPLE had to be rescued from homes and cars as a month's rain fell on the Bristol area in a single day – and forecasters warn there is more to come.

Torrential rain falling from Sunday afternoon through to yesterday morning left houses flooded, cars stranded and stretches of railway line out of action.

Avon Fire and Rescue Service received more than 180 emergency calls, attending 51 flood-related incidents and giving advice over the phone to another 132 stricken callers from 5am yesterday.

A total of 12 people were rescued by firefighters – four from their cars and the rest from homes and buildings.

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In Bristol drivers had to be rescued from cars in Withywood, the M32 was brought to a standstill by what drivers described as a "river of water", and in Filton the regional NHS blood processing bank was unable to send out supplies, with hospitals having to source blood from elsewhere in the country.

Train journeys were delayed for thousands of commuters as flooding at Flax Bourton closed the line between Nailsea and Temple Meads.

Flooding in the Patchway tunnel and Chipping Sodbury hit services to London and Wales and there were also closures between Weston-super- Mare and Burnham.

There was chaos for bus passengers too, many of whom were left waiting up to 50 minutes while services were delayed or diverted.

Areas south of Bristol were particularly hard-hit, with Clevedon, Chew Magna, Flax Bourton and Yatton suffering the brunt of the deluge.

As the River Chew burst its banks, three children were reported missing in Chew Magna. Volunteers, firefighters and police worked together to find two outside a school, while a toddler had to be rescued from a flooded garden. Several more people were stranded in flooded cars in the village, while motorists in Congresbury also had to be helped to safety.

In Yatton, the heavy rain caused several road closures and Court-de-Wyck Church of England Primary School was shut due to "impassable and dangerous" condition of roads surrounding it.

Some residential streets in Congresbury were left under several inches of flood water.

In Clevedon, fire and rescue services were called to 20 homes flooded in Clover Close, with two people having to be rescued from their house.

Richard Spreag, from neighbouring Kingston Avenue, said: "The flooding hit our garages and got under the floor in the house, triggering a power failure. The fire engines did all they could until their pumps packed in and now we've got the water board here and the insurance company on the phone. It's been a nightmare."

North Somerset Council received 72 flood related calls between 5am and 9am.

Schoolchildren in Flax Bourton had to start class at 1pm as the deep water outside in Station Road made impossible to access the school site.

Many roads stayed shut until the early afternoon yesterday.

Keynsham Library was also closed as a result of heavy rainfall causing a leak in the roof of its temporary accommodation.

The Met Office said that overnight on Sunday, parts of Bristol were soaked with 50mm to 60mm of rain – more than two inches.

A further 20mm to 40mm of rain fell across Bristol from 7am to around 4pm yesterday.

Met Office spokesman Charles Powell said: "This is very close to what we would expect to see in a month."

The Met Office has warned that the low pressure which brought the rain is likely to stay over the region until tomorrow but may clear by Thursday.

Further heavy rainfall was being predicted for tonight and tomorrow.

The Environment Agency issued flood alerts for several rivers and streams in and around Bristol areas, including the Frome from Nibley, near Yate, to the Floating Harbour in the city centre; Brislington Brook; the river Boyd at Wick; the River Chew from Chewstoke to Keynsham; the Avon at Saltford; the Congresbury Yeo, Cheddar Yeo, Axe and tributaries.

The bad weather system originates from a tropical storm, created by Hurricane Nadine, which headed northwards from the Azores before hitting England yesterday.