Last updated at 17:54, Thursday, 19 November 2009

Keswick can now only be entered by road from the direction of Penrith. Others routes into the town have been closed.

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All of the town's care homes have been evacuated as a result of flooding or potential flooding.

Eleven elderly residents from Ravensfield Care Home in High Hill were being taken out, amid rising floodwater.

The majority were being taken to Keswick School while the three most vulnerable were being moved to Penrith hospital.

Meanwhile, residents from Millfield residential home were being moved to the Keswick Convention Centre, and all those from homes in the centre of town were being moved to the Skiddaw Hotel.

Once the evacuation was completed, it was hoped they could be moved to other care homes for the remainder of the flood crisis. Names of each resident and where they are housed will be compiled so family members can get in touch.

The move comes after the Met Office issued an “extreme” weather warning across Cumbria with up to eight inches of rain predicted in 24 hours.

The warning came as emergency services held a crisis meeting this morning to plan their response.

Emergency services chiefs have set up a temporary headquarters in Keswick Town Hall, where they are monitoring the situation.

Keswick School was shut at 9.30am, as water levels started to rise in the surrounding streets.

Town clerk Lynda Walker said: "We're contacting our network of flood volunteers to go out and help with sandbagging and provide support
who people who need it. I know the police are closing some roads and we've had to cancel our council meeting tonight."

The heavy rain combined with current high tides could lead to coastal flooding along the Cumbrian and Dumfries and Galloway coasts, Environment Agency bosses warned.

Six flood warnings were issued early this morning on rivers across north and west Cumbria.

They included two on the Greta at Keswick, the Eamont at Eamont Bridge near Penrith, the Ehen at Egremont, two on the Cocker at Cockermouth

Parts of Keswick and Cockermouth were under water this morning as the rivers Cocker, Greta and Derwent overflowed with heavy rain.

The A6 was closed between Shap and Kendal, while the A591 was flooded and littered with debris between Keswick and Grasmere.

The A69 at Warwick Bridge was affected by a flood 70 metres long, between the B6263 and Waters Meet.

Worst hit was the village of Shap, which experienced 40mm (1.6in) of rainfall in 12 hours. Thirty millimetres (1.2in) of rain fell in Keswick between 6pm yesterday and 6am today.

A Met Office spokesman said conditions should clear for a time tomorrow, but the county could expect another six to eight hours of heavy rain on Saturday.

Alan Goodman, Met Office Regional Advisor for North West England, said: “Rather than an ordinary severe weather event, we’re looking at an extreme weather event, which is a much rarer breed.

“There’s bound to be river flooding, because there’s just so much rain that’s going to fall, particularly on the high fells.

“It should start to clear by tomorrow, but it will already have done its damage by then.”

Agencies including the fire service, police, NHS and local authorities held an emergency meeting in Penrith this morning.

Mike Smythe, Head of Resilience for Cumbria County Council, advised householders in low-lying areas to think about protecting their valuables.

He said: “Try and make sure the drains are clear of leaves, so rain will clear more easily, and think about moving your car to higher ground. Make sure your valuable documents like certificates, insurance documents and  wedding photos are safe.

“We’ve had persistent heavy rainfall since this morning so the ground is very wet and the water will run off very quickly. The outlook is bleak in terms of flooding.”

A fire service spokeswoman said: “We’ve just started getting calls in this morning, although it was fairly quiet overnight. We’ve got crews from Keswick and Ambleside out at the moment, but the worst of the weather has come later than they predicted.

“I think this might be the start of something.”

Police urged drivers to take extra care and avoid unnecessary journeys, after a rise in road collisions yesterday.

A police spokeswoman said: “While there’s not been a significant rise in injuries, there has been a trend of single vehicles leaving the road due to standing water. People need to be reminded when they’re hitting large puddles that it affects the steering of the car.”

The North West Ambulance NHS Trust and NHS Cumbria urged people to take care as heavy rainfall was expected to continue overnight tonight and into tomorrow.

Paul Kudray, of the North West Ambulance Service, said: “We are urging members of the public to take care of themselves, and others, in the expected adverse weather conditions.

Everyone's health can be affected by bad weather, particularly excessive rainfall with greater risks of road traffic collisions, slips and falls.”

He asked those living next to elderly people to make sure they were safe and dry over the next few days. Drivers were advised to avoid unnecessary journeys, reduce their speed and take extra care while passing flood waters.

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First published at 09:58, Thursday, 19 November 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk