Cumbria in chaos as floods close roads and schools, strand vehicles

Heavy rain hit parts of northern England on Wednesday, November 22, 2017, causing traffic chaos and closing schools. The worst hit so far is Cumbria county.

Traffic across Cumbria was brought to a standstill Wednesday afternoon after heavy rain flooded roads, stranding cars, shut down traffic lines and forced early closure of schools.

Rainfall and satellite UK – November 22, 2017 at 19:15 UTC

Main roads such as A590, A595, A6 and others were heavily hit, with flooding also closing parts of the A5087 coast road between Barrow and Ulverston.

More than 20 schools closed early including Dowdales in Dalton, Ulverston Victoria High School, Waberthwaite School and a number of primary schools in and around Ambleside.

As of 21:40 UTC, there are 17 flood warnings and 50 flood alerts across England. Heavy rainfall is forecast to continue through this evening and into Thursday morning. 

Flood warnings (17)

Flooding is expected – immediate action required

• Burrow Beck at Lancaster, affecting properties on Canterbury Ave close to Burrow Beck
• Burrow Beck at Lancaster, bordering the river from Canterbury Ave to Scotforth Rd
• Dragley Beck at Ulverston from Dragley Beck Bridge on Well Lane downstream to South Ulverston
• Keswick Campsite
• Pumped Watercourses at Preesall
• River Caldew at Cummersdale, Factory
• River Conder at Galgate, areas adjacent to the River Conder, Whitley Beck and Ou Beck
• River Eden at Appleby, The Sands, Cricket ground, St Georges Field
• River Eden at Carlisle, Rickerby Park, Swifts and Stoneyholme Golf Courses
• River Ehen at Egremont, Bleach Green, Ennerdale Mill, Springfield Rd, Vale View, Wood Bank
• River Greta at Keswick, Fitz Park and Riverside Flats Areas
• River Greta at Keswick, Keswick Campsite, Rugby Club and Quinta
• River Kent at Burneside, Bournville, Bridge St, Carling Dale, Ivy Cresent, New Road and St
• River Kent at Burneside, Steeles Row and Carling Steps
• River Kent at Kendal, Benson Green, Burneside Rd, Gilthwaite Rigg, and St Johns Ambulance
• River Swale at Brompton-on-Swale caravan park and Brompton Lakes
• Wiza Beck & Black Beck at Wigton, Station Rd

Teo Blašković

I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.

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