Ex hurricane Bertha causes power outage to 1000’s in Gloucester, UK

DOZENS of Gloucester homes have been left without power after the remains of a tropical storm hit the region.

The county has been battered by ex-hurricane Bertha, which was swept in across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Gloucestershire as it moves north east across the country.

Western Power Disruption has said that power has already been restored to dozens of homes across the city but residents in GL3 and GL4 will have to wait until midday.

The Environment Agency has said the storm is of a “tropical nature” and is expected to bring thunderstorms and flash flooding to the area.

A severe weather warning remains in place with the potential for up to 50mm of rain in places after the storm battered the Caribbean and New York.

The public has been advised to keep up to date with forecasts with heavy rain potentially leading to flooding, disruption to transport and making outdoor activities dangerous.

A Met Office spokesman said: “This remains a volatile situation, and this alert is likely to be updated as the event unfolds.

“The public are advised to keep up to date with the latest forecasts and alerts through the weekend.”

The current rain and storms have led to four times as many calls to Severn Trent the company confirmed today.

James Jesic, waste water manager for Severn Trent said: “Over the last few hours, we’ve had more than four times the amount of calls that we would normally see at this time of year.

“Most of these calls are to get advice on or to report incidents of flooding, which we are monitoring and keeping a close eye on. But unfortunately this means that people are having to wait longer than we’d like to talk to us.

“Our advice below may help and following it may mean that customers don’t actually need to call us.

“We were aware that this weather was coming and we’ve worked hard to get ready for it.

“We’ve got plenty of staff on the phones in our call centre and additional teams available on the ground to deal with flooding issues. We’re also out and about keeping an eye on those areas with a high risk of flooding.

“Unfortunately, in stormy weather, the drains and sewers often have significantly more water flowing through them. When the weather has been as dry as it has been for the past few weeks, the rain has a hard time sinking into the hard and compacted soil; so it just runs off the surface and goes directly into drains and sewers.”