Day of London travel chaos as heavy rain submerges parts of capital in floods

A man runs beside a flooded road by the River Thames (REUTERS)
A man runs beside a flooded road by the River Thames (REUTERS)

Parts of London were hit by travel chaos on Monday after flash flooding, with some parts of the country seeing a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours.

Heavy rainfall left parts of London submerged - causing widespread travel disruption and damage to properties, alongside areas in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire.

According to the Environment Agency, at least 45 properties have flooded across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Kent and the Home Counties.

As of 6pm, 20 flood warnings - meaning flooding is expected - had been issued for England by the Environment Agency.

The extreme weather saw part of the District Line and London Overground suspended all day, while the Metropolitan and Piccadilly Lines were also part-suspended on Monday afternoon.

Mainline trains were also hit due to a combination of flooding on the tracks and train shortages.

Commuter services from London Waterloo on South Western Railway suffered disruption, as did CrossCountry routes running from Waterloo through Winchester.

A car drives through surface water after heavy rain in west London (REUTERS)
A car drives through surface water after heavy rain in west London (REUTERS)

Further flood warnings were issued for areas popular with commuters, including Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, Milton Keynes, Leighton Buzzard and Luton in Bedfordshire. Also affected were areas surrounding the River Medway and its tributaries in Kent.

Several major roads were also closed due to flooding, such as the A421 in Bedfordshire in both directions and the A5 in Buckinghamshire was closed northbound near Milton Keynes.

A spokesperson for the RAC called on drivers to take "extreme care" and avoid driving through water deeper than 10cm.

The London Fire Brigade said its 999 control officers have taken around 350 calls to flooding across the capital.

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.

Flooding is believed to be to blame for a sinkhole at the AFC Wimbledon ground (Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)
Flooding is believed to be to blame for a sinkhole at the AFC Wimbledon ground (Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)

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 south west. This includes Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Buckinghamshire.

Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey previously said that Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and up towards the Wash and the Humber could see more than a month's worth of rain falling on Monday.

Homes were flooded along the River Purwell in Hitchin, Hertfordshire (Wesley Johnson/PA) (PA Wire)
Homes were flooded along the River Purwell in Hitchin, Hertfordshire (Wesley Johnson/PA) (PA Wire)

Environment Agency flood duty manager Sarah Cook said "persistent heavy rain and thunderstorms" could lead to some property flooding and travel disruption.

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.

"We urge people to plan their journeys carefully, follow the advice of local emergency services on the roads and not to drive through flood water - it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car."