A14: Road partially reopens after flooding in Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire
- Published
The A14 in Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire has been reopened in places after widespread flooding.
Northamptonshire was hit with heavy rain on Wednesday, with cars abandoned on flooded roads.
Highways England said the A14 between Thrapston in Northamptonshire and Ellington in Cambridgeshire would reopen eastbound.
At 18:00 GMT on Thursday, it remained closed westbound between junctions 18 and 22.
Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said it dealt with more than 250 calls on Wednesday and Thursday.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The calls included reports of flooded properties and people being stranded in vehicles, it said.
Affected areas include Wootton Brook in Northampton, Cogenhoe Mill, Grendon, Yardley Hastings, Bozeat and Denton.
Up to 30 homes in Kettering are being evacuated, with Northamptonshire Search and Rescue heading up the operation.
A joint statement from Northamptonshire police, fire and rescue service, county council, Highways England and Northamptonshire Clinical Commissioning Groups said "a large number of calls" had been received, with "many from stranded drivers who have driven into floods".
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The statement urged people not to call 999 "unless there is a serious risk to life or threat of danger to property".
It added: "Doing so puts services under strain so those who do require an emergency response may have to wait longer.
"We are also advising people not to drive into water - the depth isn't immediately obvious and the risk often unapparent."
It urged people to take "extreme caution" in "difficult" driving condition, particularly as temperatures dropped later in the day, resulting in potentially icy roads.
Jack Churchman, who runs landscaping company JPC Garden Services in Wellingborough, told BBC Radio Northampton his company had distributed 100 sandbags to residents in "absolutely sodden" houses.
"It was shocking," he said. "None of the drains were working. Houses were getting water going straight through their front and back doors."
The River Nene has burst its banks in several places, including at Warmington in East Northamptonshire.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, external, Instagram, external and Twitter, external. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk
Related topics
- Published24 December 2020