Floods in the West Midlands during this bank holiday weekend have claimed their first victim. A man in his 80s has been pronounced dead after his vehicle was submerged in the flooding in Walsall. The weather this latest weekend all across the UK has been described as extreme, with a month's worth of rain falling in the West Midlands in just one hour. Reports came in this Monday that the victim's car had been engulfed in water and the police had to be called in order to rescue the man. He was brought to hospital but, unfortunately, rescue efforts were not effective.
The Met Office warned that thunderstorms could last throughout Monday and police have asked all those travelling to stay alert.
A month's worth of rain in just 60 minutes
The UK has been hit with unusual amount of thunderstorms during the last few days. Liz Bentley, from the Royal Meteorologist Society, said in an interview with Sky News on Sunday that "the amount of thunderstorms that we saw overnight and through this morning were unusual." According to the Western Power Distribution, nearly 1000 homes in the Midlands were left without power after the severe storm, with five homes taking a direct hit. The damage was said to be minor. The extremity of the weather has continued to cause problems.
The Environment Agency issued 26 flood warnings that required immediate action and passengers had to be helped off stranded buses and motorcycles as the roads flooded.
Second time in only two years
Footage that has been posted on social media shows the severity of the weather. A recurrent theme of the images has been stranded cars and flooded roads.
The University of Birmingham had to close its main sports centre due to flooding while yellow warnings (which are used to indicate danger to life) continue to stay in place. Highways in England were forced to close a stretch of the M5, M42 and M6, and in Birmingham there were reports on water rising up to 5ft. deep. According to Jacqui Kennedy from Birmingham City Council, an operation to clear up debris and repair roads was under way - BBC reports.
This is the second time in only two years that the streets have flooded in Birmingham, with over 100 homes affected in severe flooding in June 2016. Police in Birmingham have issued a warning advising people to stay away from water if possible. Nevertheless, images on social media showing people wading through the water to push stranded cars continue to appear.
