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LONDON - Fire crews sprang into action across the south of Britain yesterday, rescuing people from their homes and vehicles as torrential rain, gale-force winds and snow caused flash floods.
Some areas in the southwest recorded a month's worth of rainfall in 24 hours. The rain flooded roads and disrupted the transport network.
The Environment Agency issued more than 100 flood warnings after heavy downpours and, in London, the Thames
Barrier was closed to protect the city from the rising tide.
Craig Woolhouse, the Environment Agency's head of flood defences, said heavy rain, melting snow and a backlog of water in rivers caused by high tides were responsible.
Firefighters evacuated 12 people from their homes in Essex because of fears that the buildings were in danger of collapsing, and 10 motorists in Somerset had to be rescued after their cars were trapped in rising floodwater.
In the Wiltshire town of Bradford-on-Avon, pressure from floodwater caused a 205-year-old wall to collapse into a residential street. A county council spokesman said the wall had been pushed out by the floodwater trapped behind it.
Up to 3000 homes in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire were left without electricity, and 200 schools were forced to close because of the conditions.
The south coast was battered by winds of up to 100 km/h, and a severe flood warning was issued for the rivers Chelmer and Can at Chelmsford, Essex.
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