The London Fire Brigade has issued warnings about keeping safe during flooding after downpours saw roads and properties affected across the capital throughout the night.
Under water: large parts of Morden Hall Park were flooded this morning
Further heavy rainfall has been forecast for the next 24 to 36 hours.
Morden Hall Park, the National Trust-managed property along the River Wandle from Croydon, was today closed to the public because of flooding. “Due to heavy rain, some paths and areas of the park are not accessible today due to flooding,” the park managers said in a warning message. “Please, find alternative routes for your journey.”
In Wallington, a car became trapped in deep flood water on the High Street, needing the driver to be rescued.
The LFB’s 999 control took around 350 calls to flooding across London as firefighters attended incidents in areas such as Ruislip, Uxbridge, Wimbledon and Carshalton.
“These included rescuing people trapped in cars, assisting people from their homes and responding to flooding in underground stations, roadways, residences and commercial properties,” the Brigade said.
In too deep: the dip under Wallington railway bridge caught out the driver of this vehicle last night
“Control officers introduced batch mobilising to certain incidents, prioritising calls where there was a risk to life and attending other calls as non-emergencies.”
Flood warnings remain in place for multiple areas across London and crews are continuing to respond to incidents utilising a range of equipment which can help rescue people trapped by flood water, pump water away and protect properties, they said.
Fire rescue units are equipped with water rescue equipment such as inflatable rescue boats and the Brigade has four specialist flood response kits, each of which contains rigid flood rescue boats and paddles and rigid floating pontoons, which can be used to make bridges and walkways to rescue people. They also contain protective dry suits and boots to be worn by fire crews when rescuing people from flooded areas.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “As firefighters continue to work with partners to keep Londoners safe, it’s important to make sure you know what to do if you experience flooding.
“Firefighters carried out multiple rescues involving people trapped in cars throughout the night. If possible, please avoid driving into flooded water or a flooded area as vehicles can quickly become unstable in moving water.
“If you’re driving and your car becomes caught in flood waters, ensure you and your passengers unbuckle your seat belts and where possible climb out to safety.
“If you become trapped in your vehicle, turn on all the lights, including your hazard warning lights. Shout and sound your horn for help, and if you are able to reach your mobile, call 999.”
What to do when there is a flood
- Be alert – listen for weather warnings in your area. You can also check your flood risk online by clicking here
- Prepare a flood kit or grab bag. This should contain essentials in case you have to leave your home. Learn more about grab bags
- Protect your property. You can use sandbags to limit water flow. If possible, move belongings to a higher level
- Look out for your neighbours. Make sure they know what to do, especially if they are vulnerable
- You can find further advice on flooding from the government and you can also sign up for free flood alerts by phone, e-mail or text message. These alerts will let you know if your property is at risk.
During a flood
- If your property becomes flooded, avoid walking through flood waters
- Six inches of fast-flowing water can knock over an adult
- Flood water can also be contaminated or polluted, making it hazardous
- Don’t swim or allow children and pets to go near flood water
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
People sometimes ask why I use the term Climate Change instead of Global Warming. It is the same thing but one of the main reasons I refer to climate is that in places like the UK the biggest noticeable change isn’t warmer, it’s wetter. As the planet warms, the atmosphere can hold a lot more water and flooding that used to occur once in ten years or once in a hundred years is now happening on a regular basis.
I hope everyone stays safe and well in this first flood of the winter and I hope you also get on to your local Councillors and MPs to find out what they are doing to increase investment in urban drainage and flood management. You could also ask why, years after saying we are in a climate emergency, they still aren’t doing anywhere near what we need to do to stop this all getting even worse.
If Croydon voted green that would sort the problem, obviously. Democracy is wonderful thing – several London councils declared themselves nuclear-free and that must have been a success as no ballistic missiles have fallen on the city since
The Purley Oaks rain gauge recorded 48mm of rain in the past 24 hours, 17 of which fell between midnight and 1am. That’s more than the average rainfall across England for the whole of August.
The recent storms in southern Poland saw almost more than 400mm (16 inches) of rainfall in just a few days. Jeseník in the Czech republic had nearly 500mm (20 inches). Lives were lost and homes, agriculture, industry and transport infrastructure were severely damaged.
Climate change is real and these downpours are just some of warning signs that governments and the corporations that have bought them are ignoring.
Climate Change must be real – there’s a government department with that name. BTW, Purley town centre was completely flooded in 1956 before climate change had been invented