Hundreds of residents evacuated amid flooding in northern England

LONDON

A man carries a tray of hot drinks and sausage sandwiches through flood water to residents remaining in their flooded properties in Carlisle, northern England, on December 7, 2015. AFP Photo

Hundreds more people have been told to leave their homes in northern England on Dec. 27, one day after several hundred people had been evacuated, as weeks of heavy rainfall continue to cause heavy flooding.

Police in the York area 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of London on Dec. 27 advised more than 300 people to leave their homes because of rising river waters.

Several hundred had been evacuated the day before in the West Yorkshire and Lancashire regions and officials said thousands had lost power.

Over 7,000 homes in Greater Manchester and Lancashire were also without electricity due to flood damage.

The official Met Office weather service indicated that only very small amounts of rain are expected in the flooded areas in the next day.

Hundreds of flood warnings are in place around the country, with 31 of them severe, signaling a risk to life.

Britain’s government was to hold emergency talks on Dec. 27. Prime Minister David Cameron was scheduled to chair a call of the COBRA emergency committee as the floods caused chaos for families during the Christmas holiday season.

“My thoughts are with people whose homes have been flooded. I’ll chair a COBRA call tomorrow to ensure everything is being done to help,” Cameron tweeted.

Environment Secretary Liz Truss told the BBC that the amount of rain had been “unprecedented.”

“We’re still in a situation with major flood warnings. People need to look at the latest advice from the Environment Agency, from the emergency services,” Truss was quoted as saying by AFP.

“That’s really important because in many places we have not yet reached the high point.” 

With its cobbled streets and timbered buildings, York is one of Britain’s top tourist attractions. It has a rich history dating back to Roman times and is home to one of Europe’s finest cathedrals, which is about 800 years old.

Officials are under pressure after similar flooding earlier this month in northwest England.

The floods in Cumbria caused damage estimated at hundreds of millions of pounds and turned many towns and villages into swamps, prompting angry accusations that the government had failed to spend enough on flood defenses.