Gloucester, U.K.
Massive floods swamped much of England this week, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes. The Thames and the Severn, Britain’s two largest rivers, broke their banks in several places after a month of heavy rains. The Thames rose 3 feet in just 12 hours; some other rivers are 20 feet higher than normal. The Royal Air Force mounted its biggest peacetime rescue operation, airlifting more than 150 people stranded on rooftops. “The situation is looking critical at the moment,” a spokesman for the Environment Agency said. “Unfortunately, the misery is set to continue.” Some 350,000 people will be without fresh water for at least two weeks, because reservoirs and treatment plants have been contaminated.
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