Shopping centre in Hastings evacuated due to severe flooding as Met Office warns of heavy rain
Shoppers have been evacuated from a shopping centre in Hastings after heavy rain and blocked drains were blamed for “severe flooding” in the area.
The fire service urged residents to move their cars as they worked to clear the water that had risen several inches at the Priory Meadow Shopping centre on Saturday.
Social media footage showed deep floodwater had flowed into the streets and entered the shopping area through the entrance on Station Road.
East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said: “We are assisting in dealing with flooding at the Priory Meadow Shopping centre, Hastings, which has been evacuated.”
The service added: “If you have cars in Hastings town centre you are advised to move them due to flooding.”
Southern Water said it was investigating and working with authorities to limit flooding.
In a statement it said: “Following the recent heavy rain, there’s been significant surface water flooding in the Hastings area. Our Wastewater Pumping Site at Coombs has been flooded, which has resulted in a release via the local storm overflow.
“The flooding of Hastings town centre is not related, and we believe it has been caused by a blocked surface water drain. We’re working closely with Hastings Borough Council and the Environment Agency to investigate and limit the impact of the flooding and any impact to our customers.”
Forecasters have warned of heavy showers and strong winds this weekend that could cause flooding to already-soaked parts of the UK.
Areas in London and the south of England, the Highlands and northeast of Scotland and Northern Ireland are all set to be lashed over the next few days.
Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has 39 flood warnings in place, stretching from north-east to south-west England, meaning flooding should be expected.
The worst affected regions could see 70mph gusts or up to nearly four inches of rain, leading to possible flooding, travel delays and power cuts.
It comes after areas across Scotland and northeast England were battered by Storm Babet, which caused serious damage and several deaths when it hit last week.
Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said an area of cloud and rain bringing heavy rain and strong winds would “move northern eastwards during the course of Saturday and into Sunday, behind it showers which could be locally heavy and thundery and particularly squally”.
He added: “We do have a yellow rain warning covering London and the southeast until the end of Sunday, talking about fairly heavy rain, 15 to 30mm, some spots could see highs of 50 to 70mm with some strong, gusty winds, there could be some localised impacts.
“The band of cloud and rain will continue moving northwards during Sunday, especially focused in eastern Scotland, which is already rather sensitive following the high rainfall from Storm Babet, so more unwelcome rain for that patch of the world and we have a yellow rain warning in place there today and tomorrow, talking about 50 to 80mm of rain accompanied by strong, gusty winds of 50 to 70mph.
“On its own the rainfall totals are not that high but given the fact we’ve had all that rain from Storm Babet it doesn’t take much for there to be localised impacts because the ground is already saturated.”
Additional reporting by Press Association
