BBC Online :
Flash flooding has caused travel chaos in parts of England as thunderstorms dumped almost half a month’s rain in some parts overnight.
A train from Milton Keynes to Euston derailed near Watford Junction, injuring two people.
The worst-hit areas are across the east, south and south-east of England which all have amber warnings in place, according to the Met Office.
Motorways, roads and homes are flooded with lightning damaging buildings.
Network Rail said CrossCountry, Great Western Railway and South West Trains were all affected with severe delays on dozens of services.
London Midland said the derailment had a knock-on effect on it trains, with hours of delays expected to last throughout the day.
The Met Office issued an amber weather warning, the second highest alert, for the East of England, London and the South East.
There is the the potential for “exceptionally large amounts of rain within a few hours” with frequent lightning and hail as additional hazards, forecasters said.
Whilst there remains some uncertainty about developments and areas affected, there could be major disruption, it added.
Mashood Shah, who lives at Walton Terrace in Woking, is one of dozens of people in Oxfordshire whose home have flooded.
He described the moment water came pouring under his front door around midnight. “My mum just said ‘the water’s all coming in’ she was panicking. I had my wellington boots by the bed.
“I put them on and I came rushing down. I told my little brother ‘stay up there, I will pass you everything’
“The water came nearly to the top of my wellington boots.”
He said sand bags were dropped off by the council about seven hours later.
Met Office meteorologist Martin Combe said 32.8mm of rain had fallen in just three hours in Farnborough, Hampshire – nearly half the 70mm average for September.
He said: “The showers and thunderstorms are going to carry on for quite some time moving slowly north and eastwards, remaining around London through the morning and all afternoon in East Anglia.
“They will eventually clear off to the east, but it will be cool behind them. While it won’t be any colder than average it is going to feel a lot cooler than it has been.”
Flash flooding has caused travel chaos in parts of England as thunderstorms dumped almost half a month’s rain in some parts overnight.
A train from Milton Keynes to Euston derailed near Watford Junction, injuring two people.
The worst-hit areas are across the east, south and south-east of England which all have amber warnings in place, according to the Met Office.
Motorways, roads and homes are flooded with lightning damaging buildings.
Network Rail said CrossCountry, Great Western Railway and South West Trains were all affected with severe delays on dozens of services.
London Midland said the derailment had a knock-on effect on it trains, with hours of delays expected to last throughout the day.
The Met Office issued an amber weather warning, the second highest alert, for the East of England, London and the South East.
There is the the potential for “exceptionally large amounts of rain within a few hours” with frequent lightning and hail as additional hazards, forecasters said.
Whilst there remains some uncertainty about developments and areas affected, there could be major disruption, it added.
Mashood Shah, who lives at Walton Terrace in Woking, is one of dozens of people in Oxfordshire whose home have flooded.
He described the moment water came pouring under his front door around midnight. “My mum just said ‘the water’s all coming in’ she was panicking. I had my wellington boots by the bed.
“I put them on and I came rushing down. I told my little brother ‘stay up there, I will pass you everything’
“The water came nearly to the top of my wellington boots.”
He said sand bags were dropped off by the council about seven hours later.
Met Office meteorologist Martin Combe said 32.8mm of rain had fallen in just three hours in Farnborough, Hampshire – nearly half the 70mm average for September.
He said: “The showers and thunderstorms are going to carry on for quite some time moving slowly north and eastwards, remaining around London through the morning and all afternoon in East Anglia.
“They will eventually clear off to the east, but it will be cool behind them. While it won’t be any colder than average it is going to feel a lot cooler than it has been.”
