Thunderstorms and sudden heavy rain downpours wreaked havoc across the centre of the UK on Thursday, with multiple rail and road routes through the Midlands closed entirely. With reports across the region of suddenly stranded cars, a drowned stadium, and multiple schools already telling their students not to come in tomorrow, people across the area are bracing for further flooding.
In Telford, locals who witnessed the late afternoon downpour were left grappling with rising levels of brown floodwaters, after the earlier deluge overwhelmed drains and other waterways in the town. Footage from the town shows a significant overflow cascading down a residential street.
Train lines through the midlands remained closed through the evening, with pictures showing the tracks fully submerged near Telford; a similar situation in Birmingham New Street meant many passengers struggled to make it home on Thursday evening, with National Rail confirming major sections of the line had become impassable.
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Video captured by resident Vinson Rodriguez shows the aftermath of the afternoon's intense thunderstorms and showers, with brown water gushing out of drains on Watling Street in Telford. The road appears to be submerged in a few inches of water, which steadily grows as the rainwater backs up out of drains in the area, reports Birmingham Live.
A similar situation caused West Midlands Police to close the roads around the junction next to the Cock Hotel on Regent Street, Wellington, with other drains in the town backing up after the heavy afternoon downpour.
Meanwhile, the groundskeepers at AFC Telford United's SEAH Stadium will have their work cut out for them tomorrow, with many inches of standing water now blanketing the grounds. Pictures shared by the football club showed some water had even made it into the building's gym.
The club asked the public: "If you are available tomorrow (Friday) from 9 am onwards we'd welcome any help you could give to help us get things straightened up and dried out."
More flooding is expected across the region overnight.
