Homes evacuated, cows drowned, and pubs destroyed as rain batters Nottinghamshire
ITV News Correspondent Ian Woods reports on the impact of the ongoing rain on the River Trent in Nottinghamshire
A major incident has been declared as ongoing rain continues to cause havoc in the midlands.
The deluge of water, causing the River Trent in Nottinghamshire to burst its banks, has led to hundreds of homes being evacuated, a herd of cows drowning in their field and many buildings and businesses being flooded.
Nottinghamshire County Council said it fears the water levels along the River Trent "could come close to the highest levels on record from the year 2000".
Some residents in Radcliffe-on-Trent were evacuated from their homes near the river’s edge with Nottinghamshire County Council telling homeowners near the waterway to expect flooding.
People were urged not to travel through floodwater, to stay away from swollen waterways and to prepare for the event of evacuation, with multiple roads closed in the county.
Councillor Roger Upton, a Nottinghamshire County and Rushcliffe Borough councillor for Radcliffe-on-Trent, said: “In my opinion, this is the worst I’ve seen in those years.
“It’s very disruptive to the local community here.
“It is worrying. All the water in the River Trent, from Staffordshire, Derbyshire, the River Dove, the River Soar, all the rivers, it all comes through here eventually and it’s that time lag. When the rain stops, it takes days for it to come through here."
Several homes on the river’s edge in Summer Way, Radcliffe-on-Trent, have flooded, with residents evacuated on Thursday and power shut off.
In Shropshire, flooding has devastated some, businesses, including pub The Boat Inn in Jackfield.
Landlord Mario Thomas, 65, said: “It certainly made me cry (on Thursday) to see the devastation it’s caused, it is unbelievable.
“It took us by complete shock and within literally hours, (the water) just kept rising so fast.
“The last two (floods) have been OK, but this one, this is an evil one.”
A number of roads remain closed including the A6097 at Gunthorpe, Wilford Lane at Compton Acres and the A617 at Kelham.
Residents in at-risk areas are being urged to prepare in case they need to evacuate.
The council said the River Derwent, the River Soar and the River Dove had reached their peaks - so high water levels would now pass down the River Trent.
The environment agency has confirmed that there are currently over 50 flood warning and flood alerts across the East Midlands alone.
Elsewhere, a number of cows drowned in the village of Sawley, Derbyshire, prompting an animal welfare investigation.
Great Western Railway (GWR) advised travellers against starting their journeys by rail on Thursday afternoon because of “heavy rainfall forecast on already flooded ground”.
In a statement posted on social media, GWR said: “Those who have already travelled should consider making the return journey as soon as possible.”
Neil Clarke from Nottinghamshire County Council said: "The levels are still rising and I know there are district councils already evacuating some people in anticipation, or as a precaution hopefully."
"But we can't stress enough that people do need to be on alert, they do need to check social media, our websites etcetera".
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue re-shared the footage of a rescue of a male who was stranded on a shed roof surrounded by water.
The flooding comes off the back off Storm Henk, which first hit the UK and the region on Tuesday, bringing winds of up to 81pmh and heavy rain.
Despite being nearly two days since then, Thursday has brought more disruption with hundreds of flood alerts in place.
Yesterday a man from Birmingham saved a woman and her toddler from a car submerged in flood water.
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