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New footage shows further flooding in Plymouth following heavy rainfall on Thursday and Friday night. A video shared with Plymouth Live shows flooding on King Street in the city centre.
The video shows water up to the ankles, with most of the street flooded, as well as a car driving through the water at one point.
Following flooding across the city, Plymouth City Council said: “We know that many neighbourhoods across the city were affected by last night’s incredible rainfall.
“The Met Office tell us that their weather station at Mount Batten recorded 56mm of rain between 10pm yesterday and 1am this morning, including 42.3 in a single hour between 11pm and midnight.
“To put that into perspective, the average for August is 80.3mm, meaning we saw more than 50 per cent expected rainfall in just 60 minutes and 70 per cent in four hours. It was the second wettest August day on record in Plymouth.
“Simply put, the drainage and sewerage system in Plymouth, a lot of which is the responsibility of South West Water, was not designed to be able to cope with that amount of water.”
They continued: “Overnight we responded to 33 emergency reports relating to flooding and received many more non-emergency reports on top. The teams are continuing to work through these today and, contrary to misinformation online, no one is out removing flags, or painting over roundabouts.
“Our highways team are responsible for around 39,000 gullies and drains across the city and have an ongoing programme to keep them clear.
“We target resources where they are most needed and inspect all gullies on a cyclical basis to only clean those that require it and to help identify potential flooding risks. We also reactively cleanse any gullies reported to us by members of the public.
“With yesterday’s forecast in mind, we have spent this week targeting and clearing known flood hot spots to target our efforts to those areas known to be most susceptible to flooding.
“Blocked gullies that are in flooding hot spots, on the main road network or affecting residential properties will always be prioritised.
“Thanks to everyone who has got in touch to report things. We’re doing our best to get things sorted as quickly as possible,” the council added.
