Jersey flooding: Major incident declared

Islanders in St Saviour have been evacuated from their homes

A major incident has been declared by the Government of Jersey after heavy rain caused flooding across the island.

People have been evacuated from their homes in Pillar Gardens, in St Saviour, and Grands Vaux School was closed to students due to flooding.

The government said the school would not open on Wednesday.

A Tactical Coordination Group including the police, fire and ambulance services, Andium Homes, Jersey Water and Jersey Electricity has been set up.

The government warned that nearly an inch (25mm) more rainfall was expected later and the flood was expected to peak at about 21:00 GMT.

At a media briefing, Helier Smith, chief executive of Jersey Water, said people should not allow children to play in flood water because of the risk of sewage contamination.

Residents were also asked not to swim in the sea until public health officials said it was safe, because of the risk of sewage.

Flooded Pillar Gardens in Grands Vaux

Chief Minister Kristina Moore thanked the fire service as well as other emergency and volunteer workers.

"I want to assure islanders and those affected that we will continue to provide support, including emergency accommodation," she said.

"Once again, our community is showing its strength and resilience in the face of unexpected challenges.

"Our emergency services plan and prepare for such events and I'm exceptionally proud and grateful to them for their immediate and professional response," she added.

Jersey Fire and Rescue Service is clearing drains after road closures in St Mary and St Martin.

The government said Grands Vaux reservoir had overtopped and started to flood the immediate area.

Jersey Water is pumping water from Grands Vaux reservoir into Queen's Valley reservoir and any additional overflow is being directed into St Aubin's Bay.

Twenty households have been evacuated from flood-hit Pillar Gardens and another 30 are due to be evacuated.

Steven Ozouf, who lives in the area, said the community had shared what sandbags there were, but there were not enough.

Water pumped from one of the worst-hit areas of the island

Andium Homes, which owns Pillar Gardens, said it had been out on site at Grands Vaux assisting emergency services, Infrastructure, Housing and Environment, and Jersey Water.

It confirmed it had set up an emergency reception centre at St Saviour Parish Hall, and had "block booked available hotel accommodation" for families affected.

The Jersey Hospitality Association put out an urgent appeal to hotels on social media that could provide accommodation for those that had been made homeless by the flash floods.

It said the government needed "up to 40 rooms for a minimum of one night", but rooms may be needed for up to one week.

Chemin des Moulins in St Ouen resembled a lake instead of a road

BBC journalist Robert Hall was in St Ouen and said the heavy rain had "badly flooded" the fields and surrounding roads and buildings.

He said the drainage systems could not cope with the amount of water, but it was set to dissipate once the rain stopped.

As he headed to Sandybrook, St Peter, he said there was "a torrent of muddy brown water coming down the valley".

"Residents were outside their houses with brushes trying to keep water away from their front doors," he said, as firefighters arrived with a water pump to help.

Emergency services are working together to tackle the flooding

Centenier Paul Davies said water was just above waist height at Pillar Gardens.

"It's probably at least four or five feet deep. The problem is that they're not pumping it out fast enough because it's obviously coming in quick."

Jersey Met said the average amount of rain for January in Jersey was 95mm (3.7in) and this month had already seen 114mm (4.4in).

Between 21:00 GMT on Monday and 10:00 Tuesday, equipment at Howard Davis Farm registered more than 42mm (1.7in).

The Met issued an ice warning for Tuesday evening, with air temperatures expected to fall to 1C (33.8F).

The paths at the Botanic Gardens at Samares Manor have also flooded

Chief Fire Officer Paul Brown said the service had been inundated with calls for help.

"At approximately 04:52, we received the first call... there could well have been more than 30 phone calls, but we certainly attended up to potentially 30 incidents," he said.

Justine Herridge said the mill at Le Moulin de Tesson had been affected

Justine Herridge, who rents an office at Le Moulin de Tesson, said staff had been forced to leave the building.

She said: "It's flooding up from underneath in the office, there's water coming up all over the office floor. We've had to shut down, we're going to have to leave, we've turned the electrics off.

"We don't know how far it's going to come up... it's not deep-deep yet, but it's coming up all over the floor."

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