British flooding moves downstream forcing evacuations in Oxford

OXFORD – Rising flood waters drove dozens of people out of their homes in Oxford yesterday as the surge from Britain’s worst floods in 60 years continued its slow progress down the Thames valley.

Waters continued to recede upstream in the hard-hit cities of Tewkesbury and Gloucester, but water lapping at some doorsteps in Oxford demonstrated that the inundation was not over. Oxfordshire Council said 90 people had been evacuated from their homes early yesterday.Thames Valley Police said about 250 homes had been contacted and residents were urged to move to higher ground.Firefighters blocked off Earl Street in west Oxford yesterday as the water rose as much as 1,2 metres deep.The flooded area was well away from the university and the city centre.The problem was not with the Thames itself, but with Bullstake Stream and Botley Stream, which meander through west Oxford before joining the Thames.In nearby Duke Street, Anthony O’Rourke said he was resigned to the flooding.”If you buy a house next to a stream, or even a braided network of them, what can you expect?” O’Rourke said, standing outside his flooded home.At the flooded George Inn pub on Botley Road, a sign proclaimed: ‘Open for business – come hell or high water’.Camilo Zapata said he had given up fighting the water, which invaded his home on Tuesday.”We mopped up for a while, farcically, then we thought, ‘sod it’ and we had a few beers,” Zapata said.”The boys next door got some whisky out.And then it started to get a bit more serious.”Angela MacKeith said she had 60 centimetres of water in her house on Old Botley street, but was looking toward the positive.”The sun is shining,” she said.Oxford is laced with watercourses, including the River Cherwell, which loops around the east and south side of the university.Nearly 350 000 people in the Gloucester-Tewkesbury area were without treated water service, and faced several more days of relying on bottled water or supplies from tankers.Damage from the flooding – the result of torrential rains in June and July – could cost insurers more than US$6 billion, the Fitch Ratings agency said Tuesday.Nampa-APOxfordshire Council said 90 people had been evacuated from their homes early yesterday.Thames Valley Police said about 250 homes had been contacted and residents were urged to move to higher ground.Firefighters blocked off Earl Street in west Oxford yesterday as the water rose as much as 1,2 metres deep.The flooded area was well away from the university and the city centre.The problem was not with the Thames itself, but with Bullstake Stream and Botley Stream, which meander through west Oxford before joining the Thames.In nearby Duke Street, Anthony O’Rourke said he was resigned to the flooding.”If you buy a house next to a stream, or even a braided network of them, what can you expect?” O’Rourke said, standing outside his flooded home.At the flooded George Inn pub on Botley Road, a sign proclaimed: ‘Open for business – come hell or high water’.Camilo Zapata said he had given up fighting the water, which invaded his home on Tuesday.”We mopped up for a while, farcically, then we thought, ‘sod it’ and we had a few beers,” Zapata said.”The boys next door got some whisky out.And then it started to get a bit more serious.”Angela MacKeith said she had 60 centimetres of water in her house on Old Botley street, but was looking toward the positive.”The sun is shining,” she said.Oxford is laced with watercourses, including the River Cherwell, which loops around the east and south side of the university.Nearly 350 000 people in the Gloucester-Tewkesbury area were without treated water service, and faced several more days of relying on bottled water or supplies from tankers.Damage from the flooding – the result of torrential rains in June and July – could cost insurers more than US$6 billion, the Fitch Ratings agency said Tuesday.Nampa-AP