A burst water main has submerged a North
London street, prompting a huge emergency response and the evacuation of nearby residents.
Twelve
fire engines and around 80 firefighters were called to assist with the incident in Queens Drive, Finsbury Park on Tuesday morning.
Video footage posted online on Tuesday morning showed roads submerged in ankle-deep water.Persistent boy prevented from getting to school by fireman.... #finsburyflood#finsburyparkpic.twitter.com/7WakxCDCuN— Johnny Briggs (@johnnyrbriggs) October 8, 2019A London Fire Brigade spokesman said the flooding had affected a 500 square metre area and that people were being evacuated from their properties, PA Media reports.
Thames Water said one of its large water mains had burst and that specialist engineers had been called to the scene to stop the flow.
A spokesman for the company said that, due to the “complexity of the work”, it could take until midday to resolve the issue.
Abi Glover, 27, who lives in a first-floor flat at St John’s Court in Queens Drive, told PA Media that the ground-floor properties in her building were “completely flooded”.
She said: “The water started at 7.40am, and it has not stopped. Everyone has been wading out with no shoes on.
“The
police had a go at me for leaving, but I am in a flooded building. It’s like a river out there, I think that’s why police had a go at me – because the current is so strong.”Flooding in Finsbury Park due to burst pipe this morning pic.twitter.com/9BWLaUB53o— Karim Traboulsi (@Kareemios) October 8, 2019A Thames Water spokesman said: “We’re sorry to any customers affected by our burst main this morning. We’ve sent our specialist engineers to the scene as a top priority, and they will be working hard to get everything back to normal as soon as possible.”
The company said the burst main was causing the following areas to experience low water pressure or a loss of supply: Highbury, Highbury Fields, Canonbury, Kings Cross, Islington, Pentonville, De Beauvoir Town, Hoxton, Camden, Holloway, and parts of Barnsbury and Tufnell Park.
Steve Stubbs, who lives in Queens Drive, told PA Media: “My water didn’t work when I went to grab a drink of water so I asked my housemates whether they had any issues – one of housemates left moments before it happened, it seemed.
“Then I checked
Twitter and saw one tweet about a flood on Queens Drive. I thought ‘Oh, that’s where we are’. I opened the balcony door and saw this river flowing down the road.
“The school looks OK as it’s on slightly higher ground, but residents around the area on ground floors are having issues, I think.
“We are dry up on the fourth floor.” Related... 'A Trajectory To A Dangerous Place': The Summer That Woke Up The World To Climate Change Say Goodbye To Your Flat Whites – Coffee Could Soon Become A Luxury