Environment

High Rainfall Floods London Tube Stations: Commute Disrupted

by Amy Judd | July 7, 2009 at 03:28 pm

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A record high amount of rain caused some havoc today for Londoners as floods in some of the tube stations forced closures and communters had to find another way home.

Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, and Paddington Tube stations were all shut down due to rain and lightning, but they reopened after a short while and crews dealt with the water. However, disruptions were frequent and trains were moving slowly.

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The day I planned to work outside

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uploaded by Amanda Alessandrine

Flood warnings were also issued for London rivers and tributaries in the south-east. Some commuters were faced with the prospect of walking home with no tubes available.

Sara Livesey, 40, who works in recruitment, was trying to get home to Beckenham in Kent.

She said: "I waited in the office until the rain stopped, thinking I was leaving at a good time and I can't believe this, I'm just dumbstruck. It's only been raining for 20 minutes and this happens, what a joke."

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impix

at 00:21 on July 8th, 2009

i took this from our office window on Marylebone High Street, previously facebook had been full of updates talking about the storms around London, but it hadn't reached us yet.
In about five minutes the sky darkened and a deluge opened with hail, rain, thunder and lightning. The high street looked like a river and the drains on the flat roofs couldn't cope with the volume of water.

impix has contributed a photo to this story.

Kent Wien

at 03:04 on July 8th, 2009

Viewed from my hotel room in Kensington, this lightning strike over the city of London seemed to cause a lot of emergency vehicle activity. Taken on 7-7-09 at 5:23 p.m.

Kent Wien has contributed a photo to this story.

158

at 07:10 on July 8th, 2009

This shows nature is still untamed

meeware

at 03:29 on July 9th, 2009

I arrived at London Victoria around 17.40 on Tuesday, and the sound of hail thrashing down on the cannopies was deafening on the walk up from the tube station. As I passed into the main concourse the sound rose in waves, and all across the huge space it was obvious that the drains were failling badly. Every other column supporting the roof was sheathed in a torrent of hail and rainwater, great plumes of icy spray careening down, and forming huge ponds on the station floor. Screens and speakers from the information systems were holding up surprisingly well though.

meeware has contributed a photo to this story.