Storm Henk chaos as Northampton holiday home flooding sees 1,000 evacuated
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from a caravan park as Storm Henk hits the UK.
The holiday park in Nene Valley, Northampton, was hit by floods on Tuesday as the first named storm of the year swept in, with around 1,000 people evacuated. It comes as the Met Office issued a rare amber warning for a huge patch across the Midlands and the South of England, with winds of up to 80mph projected for some parts.
The Environment Agency meanwhile issued severe flood alerts for the East Midlands. Families at the Northampton park were forced to leave with whatever possessions they could as water seeped into the site earlier in the morning.
Holidaymaker at the nearby Billing Aquadrome Linda Page told how sirens sounded, warning people to leave, claiming the noise reminded her of "the noise of the air raid sirens in World War II".
Issuing alerts on Monday, the Environment Agency said: "Heavy rain is currently falling in the Nene catchment and will continue for the rest of today, Monday 1st January. This will cause the River Nene to continue to rise through today and into tomorrow, Tuesday 2nd January.
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"Low lying areas near to the River Nene are already flooded. We expect Billing Aquadrome to be affected at some point during the night, Monday into Tuesday, and are issuing this warning proactively to give sufficient notice to take action. Further heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow afternoon Tuesday 2nd January and therefore river levels are expected to continue to increase. Remain safe and be aware of your local surroundings."
Flooding at an Iron Age roundhouse at Parkmill, Swansea, on Tuesday as the country was battered by Storm Henk (Phil Rees/REX/Shutterstock)The Met Office has published several weather alerts for strong winds and heavy rain this week. Tuesday's amber warning covers East Anglia, London, parts of the South West and South Wales, lasting until 8pm.
A Yellow warning for rain covers a wide area of England and Wales as further rain moves in through the day. The strongest gusts will initially be focused around southwest England and south Wales during late morning and early afternoon today, with gusts of up to 80mph possible in exposed coastal locations.
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Meanwhile, several parts of the UK have been hit by floods amidst as the country is battered by heavy rainfall. Natural Resources Wales has issued 40 flood alerts, 17 flood warnings, and one severe flood warning, whilst roads across Devon were closed due to floods or fallen trees.
A pub has been forced to close 'for the foreseeable future' after heavy rain led to floods which made the building 'unsafe'. Customers have flocked to support the Royal Oak at Brandon, just outside Coventry, after the management team shared the news on their Facebook page.
A major road in Gloucestershire was also closed due to flooding during the wet weather as the River Severn rose, while in York the River Ouse also burst its banks.
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