Britain hit by floods, power cuts at Christmas Wed, Dec 25 12:49 PM EST LONDON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Britons will
remain without electricity on Christmas Day after
torrential rainfall flooded homes and hurricane-force
winds battered the country. Two severe flood alerts are in force along with nearly
300 secondary warnings, largely across southern and
central England, Britain's environment agency said on
Wednesday. Around 50,000 homes are likely to remain without
power throughout Christmas Day according to the
Energy Networks Association which represents wire
and pipe companies. Tens of thousands of people have also had their
power cut off in France where high winds and heavy
rain were still sweeping across the south of the
country. Winds of up to 90 mph hit both Britain and France on
December 23 and Christmas Eve, with downpours
forcing cancellations of rail, flight and ferry services at
a peak travel time. Five people - including a man who tried to rescue his
dog from a river - have died in Britain over the last
three days in accidents linked to the high winds and
heavy rainfall. Police in Dorset, southwest England, evacuated over
100 people in the early hours of Wednesday in two
separate locations due to fears of flooding from a
nearby river. There were more power cuts at London's second
airport Gatwick on Christmas Day as stranded
travelers tried to catch flights. Power failures led to
angry scenes between passengers and staff on
Tuesday. "Due to adverse weather in the last 48 hours there are
still power outages in parts of our North Terminal,
these are causing delays to departing flights," said a
message on the airport's website.

mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9BO03820131225?irpc=932

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