HEAVY rain brought renewed flooding to parts of the Island yesterday, as well as a new record for November rainfall at one site with still half the month to go.
The northern parishes were hit particularly hard, with 32.6 millimetres of rain recorded at Howard Davis Farm in Trinity in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday, and reports of unprecedented flooding in parts of St John.
In 91 years since rainfall was first recorded at Howard Davis Farm, the wettest-ever November saw 238.6mm in 2009, a figure now broken by a provisional total of 249.6mm over the first half of this month.
Several roads were closed as a result of flooding, including a trench forming at Route des Issues in St John and the partial blockage of Chenolles de Six Rues in St Lawrence. Rue de la Frontière in St Mary had water to a depth of 60cm at the height of the flood.
Several roads were also closed following landslips.
The Fire and Rescue Service reported multiple call-outs, while LibertyBus services were rerouted in St Lawrence, St Mary and St John.
Constable Andy Jehan said: “We’ve seen a huge amount of surface water in St John, and areas that I’ve never seen flooded before were under water this morning.
“The drains in the parish have been cleared within the past two weeks, but there have been lots of blockages, huge amounts of silt building up and the ground is saturated.
“We’d ask landowners who can do so safely to check their drains and take action to clear them if possible.”
Other parts of the Island have also seen high levels of rainfall during the month to date. At Maison St Louis in St Helier, 162.8mm had been recorded by yesterday morning, already exceeding the 30-year average by more than 40%, while Jersey Airport saw 137.8mm recorded by 9am on Wednesday.
The highest-ever rainfall at any site in Jersey was the 266.4mm recorded at Maison St Louis in 1910.
Jersey Met has forecast further rain, possibly heavy, tonight and during the first half of tomorrow. Sunday looks set to be the drier period of the weekend, although showers are possible.
