25/07/2007

More homes evacuated as flood misery continues

Around 250 homes have been evacuated in Oxford as the city became the latest area of Britain to be affected by flooding.

The homes were evacuated in the Osney area of the city and some residents seeking shelter stayed in Oxford United's Kassam stadium.

Water levels in the Thames around Oxford had risen throughout the night and they are expected to peak later on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the flood focus is now on areas such as Henley and Reading.

Six severe flood warnings have been put in place by the Environment Agency - three on the Severn in Gloucester, Tewkesbury and Worcester and two on the Thames around Oxford and one of the Ock, near Abingdon in Oxfordshire - and 33 other flood warnings are also in place.

In Gloucestershire, around 340,000 people are without running water after a treatment plant was flooded. Severn Trent Water said that it could be two weeks before mains water supplies are restored in the area and they have supplied bowsers to Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury.

There have been reports that some people are draining water from the bowsers in order to sell it on at inflated prices.

However, electricity has been restored to more than 48,000 homes in the region.

According to Sky News' weather department, more rain is expected in the area later this week and into the weekend.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited Gloucester to witness the damage caused by the floods. Earlier, during Prime Minister's Question Time in the Commons, he announced that £46 million would be made available to help those affected by the floods.

(KMcA/SP)

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