Floodwaters submerge cars in Raynes Park, southwest London
(Picture: Twitter)Perhaps as a moment of pathetic fallacy because of the football, last night the heavens well and truly opened with heavy rainfall, causing parts of London to experience flash floods.
In Hammersmith and Fulham, the local council declared an emergency in the borough after rain caused sewers to overflow and enter a number of homes.
Meanwhile, in South End Green, firefighters were called to help carry some walkers to safety across roads that had been flooded by water pouring off Hampstead Heath.
It really rained, basically, and some of the footage and images of the capital city submerged are truly remarkable. Here are nine of the most shocking videos taken by people on social media.
Stations on the London Underground network were affected:
🚨 | NEW: Tube flooding pic.twitter.com/ar2r17JShZ
— News For All (@NewsForAllUK) July 12, 2021
As was Belsize Park:
Pt2 #London #flooding #Flood #floods pic.twitter.com/14LRVO1Gk2
— Temple of fortune 🇳🇬🇬🇧 (@TempleOfFortune) July 12, 2021
Roads became slip and slides:
Flash floods created dangerous situations on London's roads forcing many to escape in precarious fashion.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 13, 2021
Read more here: https://t.co/4TS3B2xs7t pic.twitter.com/aEVynekRQb
@LondonSnowWatch West Cross Route pic.twitter.com/lpVhzD6hO4
— Chris (@cjwardy) July 12, 2021
And the fire brigade had to intervene in Barnes:
Property flooding in Barnes London after thunderstorms. Water pouring up out of toilet as sewers backed up, said one resident. Another said he’d never seen rain like it in 20 years #flood #barnes #thunderstorm pic.twitter.com/EqN9rOggjR
— Gareth Furby (@GarethFurby) July 12, 2021
Cars were submerged by the water:
Serious flash floods in London today, with heavy rain not seen in long time.
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) July 12, 2021
Video from S Hampstead area shows cars submerged and > ft high water: pic.twitter.com/jBkD8G67cY
More flooding of gardens and parking lot in NW London / South Hampstead pic.twitter.com/woCkAg8es8
— Lunanana (@lunanana___) July 12, 2021
And residents had to stay firmly indoors to wait for it to pass:
Looking increasingly likely that a lot of the London flooding occurred due to pressure on drainage from extreme rainfall. This is a crazy example pic.twitter.com/tEW3aFcSpy
— Dr Neil Entwistle (@SalfordHydro) July 13, 2021
#Flooding in West London today: pic.twitter.com/gf8wFTPtWl
— Emma Pencheon (@EmmaPencheon) July 12, 2021
Parts of London received a month’s worth of rain in one day, reports show. A total of 47.8mm of rain fell in a 24-hour period in Kew, most of it in just one hour. The average monthly rainfall in July is 44.5mm.
Meanwhile, the London Fire Brigade said it had taken more than 1,000 calls related to flooding.
A spokesperson for the service told the BBC: “We’re asking people not to walk through or drive through the floodwater. Floodwater can be contaminated and vehicles can become unstable.”
Euston Station lines had to be shut down and underground stations, including Chalk Farm and Hampstead stations in north London and Wimbledon in the south, also closed.
It is expected to get warmer for the rest of the week so hopefully we don’t see a repeat of these scenes again.
