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Tower Bridge floods as torrential rain lashes London

Tourist landmark just one area hit by chaos as roads and tube lines across capital suffer under downpour

Colin Drury
Tuesday 14 September 2021 14:46 BST
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Tower Bridge floods as torrential rain lashes London

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Tower Bridge and its surrounding streets have been flooded after rain lashed London on Tuesday.

The tourist landmark was just one area hit by travel chaos across the capital as roads and tubes suffered under the torrential downpours.

Major delays hit arterial routes including the North Circular Road, Euston Road and Blackwall Tunnel, while a section of the District underground line had to be closed.

Footage posted onto social media showed streets turned into rivers, and buses and cars struggling to get across Tower Bridge.

The pummelling came soon after the Met Office had issued a yellow weather warning for most of England and forecast that heavy downpours were likely to continue across much of the country for the rest of the day.

It said there was a chance homes and buildings could be flooded or damaged from as far as London to Hartlepool.

And it added areas in the Midlands and North East may see as much as 70mm of rain over the course of the day.

A spokesperson said “An area of rain is expected to move northeast-wards across much of England on Tuesday, with thunder in a few places.

“Fifteen to 25mm of rain is likely quite widely with up to 40mm in a few places, leading to some flooding and disruption.

“However, there is a small chance that this rain will be especially intense in a few places with 50-70mm possible, and more significant disruption where this occurs.”

The downpours coming just a week after some of the country’s warmest ever autumn nights will be seen as more evidence of the urgent need for action on climate change at the upcoming COP26 in Glasgow.

Significantly, there is now a growing expectation that this will be the wettest September ever with Ladbrokes slashing its odds on such an outcome.

The bookie chain is now offering just 5/4 for this going down as the worst September for rain on record.

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