East London burst pipe leaves homes without water
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Panic buying of bottled water was reported in some local supermarkets on Tuesday
Residents across large parts of east London have been without water following a "major burst" in a pipe.
People in nine postcodes had no water or low pressure after a main ruptured at Hackney Marshes on Tuesday afternoon, Thames Water said.
Some people complained that bottled water in shops had sold out and being unable to wash their hands created a coronavirus risk.
Thames Water said it expected supplies to improve during the day, external.
Thames Water said the picture above shows the extent of the challenge its staff are dealing with
The burst flooded an area of woodland 300m x 300m to a depth of 1m, Thames Water said
The 42in (106cm) diameter pipe burst in a woodland area on Hackney Marshes, causing problems in surrounding areas including Barking, Forest Gate, Leytonstone, Ilford, Plaistow and Stratford.
The utility firm said it had received about 1,000 calls by Tuesday evening from people who had no water or low pressure.
Mary Davies, a teacher from Forest Gate, told the BBC she had returned home just before 17:00 BST on Tuesday to find she had no water.
"It's been a tough night. We've had no water so things like cooking vegetables, making cups of tea, going to the toilet, having a shower, even the new Covid precautions... were impossible".
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Thames Water said engineers had been working throughout the night and tankers had been used to pump water into the system which had meant pressure was "starting to build across our network".
"It's likely some homes will continue to experience low pressure and this may come and go, particularly during the period of high demand early this morning," it said.
The firm added it expected "supplies to improve as we move towards midday".
People on Twitter said shelves in some shops had been cleared of bottled water and reported panic buying in supermarkets on Tuesday evening.
One tweeted: "Family members coming back from work struggling to at least wash their hands. Supermarkets and shops are being emptied by those who have cars and can get quantities of bottles of water."
People took to social media to complain that bottled water in some shops had sold out
Thames Water apologised for the lack of running water, saying it understood "how worrying and inconvenient this disruption is, particularly at this difficult time".
It added it was prioritising vulnerable customers by delivering water to them while sites providing bottled water were being set up.
The company is also dealing with "supply problems" in Reading which began on Tuesday and left parts of the town with no running water or low pressure.
Thames Water said "improvements" had been made overnight with water being pumped into the area meaning it "should start to return to affected homes throughout the morning".