Parts of Britain have been struck by flash floods after some areas saw more than a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.
Heavy rainfall has seen parts of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and London submerged causing widespread travel disruption and damage to properties.
As of 11.45am, 17 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – were issued for England by the Environment Agency.
Areas affected by the flood warnings include Childswickham in Worcestershire, Leighton Buzzard and Luton in Bedfordshire and parts of London including South Ruislip.
National Highways confirmed the A421 in Bedfordshire was closed in both directions between A6 Bedford and M1 J13 near Marston Moretaine due to flooding. Bedfordshire Police said it had closed off part of Dunstable High Street due to “substantial flooding”, with footage shared on social media showing cars battling high water around the Saracen’s Head pub.
Some schools in Bedfordshire have also closed, with an update on Central Bedfordshire Council’s website citing water ingress/flooding as being the reason for the closure.
The Overground and some Tube lines in London have been partly suspended. The District Line is not running between Turnham Green and Richmond, while the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines are suspended between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge.
There is no Overground service between South Acton and Richmond, and there are also severe delays on the Bakerloo line, and on the Metropolitan line between Rayners Lane and Harrow-on-the-Hill.
Firefighters have attended incidents in areas such as Ruislip, Uxbridge, Wimbledon and Carshalton.
The service said these included rescuing people trapped in cars, assisting people from their homes and responding to flooding in underground stations, roadways, residences and commercial properties.
AFC Wimbledon and Newcastle’s Carabao Cup third-round meeting on Tuesday has been called off due to “extensive overnight flooding” at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
Rain warnings were in place all weekend with a fresh yellow alert coming into effect at midnight to last all of Monday, covering parts of Wales, much of the south of England, the Midlands and into north-west England and Yorkshire.
An amber warning came into force at 5am and will last until 11.59pm.
It initially covered Worcester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Hull but an update from the Met Office said the warning area had shifted further south and southwest. This includes Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Buckinghamshire.
Forecasters also said there may be more warnings in the week ahead.
Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey previously told the PA news agency that Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and up towards the Wash and the Humber could see more than a month’s worth of rain falling on Monday.
Environment Agency flood duty manager Sarah Cook said “persistent heavy rain and thunderstorms” could lead to some property flooding and travel disruption.
Ongoing heavy rain across England today may cause surface water #flooding and travel disruption.
Plan ahead and sign up for flood warnings: https://t.co/P5d6Axp8Vq pic.twitter.com/M3MQ2I720G
— Environment Agency (@EnvAgency) September 23, 2024
She said: “Persistent heavy rain and thunderstorms could lead to significant surface water flooding on Monday across parts of England.
“The impacts could include localised flooding in urban areas and fast-responding catchments, including some property flooding as well as travel disruption. The risk from river flooding remains low.
“Environment Agency teams are out on the ground and ready to support local authorities in responding to surface water flooding.
“People should check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation as well as following @EnvAgency on X, formerly Twitter, for the latest flood updates.”
A man from Northamptonshire has described the moment he saw a “wave of water” heading towards him during flooding on Sunday night.
Mr Maher told PA: “We’ve had an awful lot of rain in recent days and some forecasters were warning we could see a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.
“I have an app on my phone which tracks river levels and at around 8.45pm it rocketed up.
“I decided to drive down to the bridge and saw the water breaking the banks and coming down the road towards me.
“We’ve had some damage to the carpets, settees and other furniture. The most difficult bit will be drying out the structure.
“We haven’t had much sleep and at least eight houses on our road have been impacted. It would be nice to get a permanent solution to this problem.”
