This Article is From Sep 26, 2012

UK Floods: Second day of heavy rain brings flooding, traffic chaos, evacuations

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Morpeth, Northumberland: Parts of the UK were hit by flooding and travel chaos on Tuesday following a second day of heavy rain, with hundreds of people forced to seek temporary accommodation due to flooding.

At least 300 properties across the country have been flooded since Sunday, according to the UK Environment Agency.

In Morpeth, in the county of Northumberland, one motorist had a lucky escape when her car was nearly submerged in floodwaters.

A rescue worker managed to push it back onto solid ground.

The streets of Morpeth were awash, with 90 homes said to be flooded and many having to be rescued using lifeboats.

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Home owner John Best, who was hit by floods in 2008 and only moved back into his house two years ago, was dreading the prospect of another upheaval.

"You've got that constant turning in your stomach because you know what the next few months are going to entail," he said.

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Roads and railways across the region were hit, with the A1 road closed as water drained onto it from surrounding fields.

In Richmond, North Yorkshire, elderly residents were rescued from their council care home which had been hit by the rising waters.

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Craig McGarvey of the UK Environment Agency said up to 100 millimetres of rain had fallen in 36 hours in some parts of the country.

Some areas were said to have experienced a month's worth of rain in just 24 hours.

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With the downpours set to continue, the Environment Agency warned that river levels would continue to rise on Wednesday along the River Ouse in Yorkshire and the River Severn, potentially causing further flooding as the water moves downstream.

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