MOORLAND, England (Reuters) – The village of Moorland in southwest England lies largely deserted, eerily silent save for the creaking of flood defenses which failed to stop the flow of muddy brown water now standing chest-high along its main street.
Its residents were among thousands across England who fell victim to the country's wettest January in nearly 250 years, with heavy rain and storms damaging homes, businesses and transport links and heaping pressure on a government criticised for being too slow to react.
In Moorland, part of the badly hit Somerset Levels region where more than 65 million cubic metres of flood water is being pumped out at a rate of 3 million cubic metres a day, water stretches out in all directions as far as the eye can see.
The air reeks of petrol leaking from cars which float abandoned along with other debris in the still-rising water. Sandbags are stacked up outside empty houses.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- All PropertyCasualty360.com news coverage, best practices, and in-depth analysis.
- Educational webcasts, resources from industry leaders, and informative newsletters.
- Other award-winning websites including BenefitsPRO.com and ThinkAdvisor.com.
Already have an account? Sign In
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
