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Today, people in Norfolk are urged not to travel unless essential after firefighters received more than 300 flood-related calls in just 12 hours.
The floods have damaged homes in Norfolk.
– Credit: Charlotte Taylor
The Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service is still dealing with a number of incidents across the county, and South Norfolk has been particularly hard hit by flooding.
At its peak, more than 50 fire trucks were deployed in various incidents across the county.
The A11 is closed at the A1075 junction in Thetford, while the A140 at Long Stratton is almost passable after being flooded.
Meanwhile the A47 is closed between Easton and the Honingham / Mattishall roundabout due to flooding.
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Norfolk Police are urging people to travel only if absolutely necessary, with many roads throughout the county still flooded and several cars stranded.
The floods have caused a major incident in Norfolk.
– Credit: Submitted
On trains, services between Diss and Norwich have been delayed or canceled, with the Norwich to London line affected as all lines are blocked due to flooding, while services between Great Yarmouth and Norwich have also been seen affected due to flooding in Acle.
Greater Anglia has said that the lines between Norwich and Yarmouth are now open after the floodwater receded, but services are now running.
Tim Edwards, deputy fire chief for the Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, said a major incident was declared last night around 11 p.m. due to the large number of incidents they had been called to.
He said they “don’t report them (major incidents) very often,” but had to because of the number of calls coming into the service.
The floods have caused a major incident in Norfolk.
– Credit: Submitted
Edwards said the calls they received were “doubled,” related to “water entering buildings,” where they prioritized people at risk and “people driving through flood water and unfortunately getting stuck.”
He said the Norfolk crews were out “most of the night” dealing with calls that started coming in yesterday afternoon but peaked around 11pm last night.
Edwards praised crews who worked “unbelievably hard” through the night and said firefighters were still dealing with “a small number of flood incidents across the county.”
He said even firefighters struggled to get through some areas and warned people not to enter the floodwater as it was “difficult to know the exact depth.”
The floods have caused a major incident in Norfolk.
– Credit: Submitted
Torrential rain prompted the issuance of more than 100 flood warnings across the country, including on the Tiffey River from Wymondham to Barford in Norfolk and the Waveney River from Bungay to Ellingham and Diss to Bungay.
There are also more than 160 flood alerts across the country, including the River Tud and River Wensum, from Fakenham to Costessey; The River Yare from Thorpe St Andrew to Breydon Water; River Bure, Spixworth Beck and surrounding Becks and Little Ouse and River Thet in Norfolk and Suffolk.
Long Stratton was particularly hit, with video captured by Netherton Steakhouse staff showing cars having to crawl through standing water on the A140.
Police also said there was flooding on the same road in Pulham Market, while conditions also led to a car hitting a hedge further south on the A140 in Dickleburgh.
A three-car collision on the A11 at Spooner Row near Wymondham caused a southbound lane to close while the vehicles were recovered.
Heavy flooding also closed New Road and Mill Road in Belton, while torrential rains were causing delays on the A143 near Scole and the A146 between Loddon and Gillingham.
Konectbuses said there is a major disruption this morning and passengers were told to expect severe delays on all services, particularly on routes 1, 4, 3, 6, 8, 11, 84.
In an update on Twitter, Norfolk Police said: “We continue to deal with flooding on highways throughout the county, working alongside @highwaysEAST and @Norfolkfire when necessary.
“Slow down, drive to conditions, do you know how deep the flood water is?”
More than 600 people in areas like Norwich, Hethersett and Wroxham had been without power yesterday and UK Power Networks engineers are still working on problems in various areas including Caister, Taverham / Drayton and Wroxham.
Dan Holley of Norwich-based Weatherquest warned that despite the level of disruption already caused, “several more hours of rain would come.”
He added: “Since midnight, Tibenham Airfield has logged 33mm, this falling on already saturated terrain.”
There are flood alerts on the tidal River Yare from Thorpe St Andrew to Breydon Water, the River Waveney from Diss and the River Dove to Ellingham including Bungay, as well as on the Welney Causeway near Downham Market.
In Suffolk, there is a more serious flood warning for the Chediston watercourse at Halesworth.
In a statement on its website, Anglian Water said: “Due to the humid climate, we are currently helping many customers.
“Our top priority is to prevent flooding in people’s homes, and we will address those issues first. So it may take a little longer than usual to resolve issues that affect sewage and sewage systems, but have the assurance that we will help all customers as soon as we can.
“Some of the problems we are dealing with are caused by the large amount of rain that has fallen recently, which means that the soil is already saturated and a lot of flood water is reaching our sewers. This means that the water doesn’t drain as fast as it usually does.
“However, these problems often resolve themselves when the rain stops.”
