Yahoo News Torrential rain floods train tracks and causes motorways sinkholes (and there's more to come)
Britain’s roads and rail network took a battering today as a month’s worth of rain fell in one day in parts of Britain.
Weather warnings remain in place for much of Tuesday, with forecasters predicting that some areas of the UK could be inundated with up to 4in (100mm) of rain this week.
The downpours led to flooding across roads and railway lines, with some sections of track completely underwater and sinkholes opening up on the M25.
On Monday night police shut a section of the M25 motorway after discovering two sinkholes in a central reservation.
A lorry crash on the same stretch of road also caused delays.
Heavy flooding in Kent also closed all lines through Orpington railway station for several hours.
Network Rail posted pictures on Twitter of flooded rail lines at Mitcham Junction outside London.
Kent Police's Roads Policing Unit tweeted: "M25 jct 4-5 closed as a result of a single vehicle RTC which in turn has lead to the discovery of 2 sinkholes in the central Reservation."
The motorway was closed in both directions and Highways England warned it was expected to remain shut throughout Tuesday morning's rush hour.
National Rail warned that Southern and Thameslink trains will be heavily impacted during the morning commute, with some services delayed or cancelled due to flooding.
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North-eastern parts of England and the Midlands are expected to bear the brunt of the downpours on Tuesday, with a yellow warning in place until midnight.
Some areas are set to see up to 60mm of rain, particularly over the first half of the day, according to the Met Office.
Another warning covers Devon and Somerset, where similar conditions are expected.
The Environment Agency has issued three flood warnings in south-east England, for the River Wandle at Morden, south London, the Emm Brook at Wokingham and Ravensbourne at Bromley.
Across the region, we suffered over a month’s rainfall in just one day and in some areas, the downpours equated to 2 month’s rain. We’ve been constantly monitoring the weather and despite handling the brunt yesterday, the deluge overnight overwhelmed some drainage systems. CONT pic.twitter.com/1Udxhfkz7b
— NR South East (@NetworkRailSE) June 11, 2019
The agency said on its website: "River levels have risen as a result of localised thunderstorms. Flooding of property is expected imminently. Please take action."
A total of 31 flood alerts - which mean flooding is possible - are in place across the country.
On Wednesday and Thursday, some parts of the UK could be struck by 60mm to 80mm of rain, and possibly even up to 100mm.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill described the figures as the "worst-case scenarios" but added that people need "to be aware that we're in for some treacherous weather".
"If you add it all up some places are likely to see over 100mm this week, which is around double the average they would get in the whole of June," he said.
Residents are being told to avoid low-lying footpaths near local watercourses and plan driving routes to avoid low-lying roads near rivers which may be flooded.
