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England Hailstorm sparks havoc
Parts of East Devon and Cornwall in the UK have been hit by a series of floods after a night of storms, with severe rain and heavy hail.
Fire officials described the situation as chaos. About 25 people had to be rescued from their homes, and an evacuation centre had to be set up at the local hospital.
A police spokesman said: "There have been a series of weather-related road collisions.
"This included a road accident near Honiton with a female giving birth who had to be transported by ambulance to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital."
He said "many" vehicles, including a 38ft-long (11.6m) lorry, had been trapped in flood water.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said 25 people had been rescued from flooded homes in Ottery St Mary and Feniton.
Susanne Reed, from the fire control centre, said it was the worst flooding she had seen in 25 years.
"It has been absolute chaos, it started just after midnight when we were out rescuing people stuck in their cars in flood water.
"It got worse and worse and one crew got stuck in a 6ft (1.8m) [hail] drift," she said.
She added that crews had been rescuing people "constantly" and she could not begin to say how many had been helped to safety.



Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (5)
at 06:07 on October 31st, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 06:07 on October 31st, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. My solidarity with Devon and Cornwall.
at 10:45 on October 31st, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. We got hit by hail just before a tornado went near our town. It dinged the Acura so bad (it was black) that we had to get a bunch of body work. Our roof, on the house, had to be replaced as well. It is amazing how much destructive power hail can have.
I hope one of our readers upload a photo or two.
at 19:57 on October 31st, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. One of the problems around Honiton (I was neasrby in Somerset) is the hilliness that causes the rivers to rush, especially if they join others. Floods can escalate so quickly in such a terrain!
at 04:20 on January 4th, 2009
amyjudd
The Duchy Of Cornwall is NEXT to England, like Scotland and Wales.
As the meterological event you describe occurred in more than one of these territories your headline should therefore have been something truthful like:
'British Isles Hailstorm Sparks Havoc'.
These resources can help you avoid publishing fundamental inaccuracies and misrepresentations of The Duchy Of Cornwall's socio-geo-historical-territorial-cultural status in the future:
http://www.duchyofcornwall.eu
http://www.cornishfightingfund.org
http://www.cornwallcoserg.org.uk
http://www.thisisnotengland.co.uk
http://www.thisisnotcornwall.co.uk
http://www.cornishnotenglish.com
http://www.cornwall24.co.uk
The Editors
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