UK city underwater as Storm Bert floods Tesco and excessive road into shut down

After being battered by Storm Bert‘s wrath over the weekend, a large chunk of a Wiltshire town remains submerged underwater.

The River Avon bursts its banks overnight pouring torrents of water along Chippenham town centre, while the storm raged on, killing five.

Several key streets in the Wiltshire town remain underwater, including The Bridge, High Street, Bridge Centre Roundabout, Avenue La Fleche and adjacent roads, with vehicles stranded in the deep water.

READ MORE: Storm Bert-battered Brits will be lashed by five more tempests before Christmas

Emergency services are working to he to assist residents and business owners protect their water-logged properties, while local schools have closed due to the chaos.

Wiltshire Police spokesperson advised: “Chippenham town centre is unpassable due to the river Avon bursting its banks. The Bridge centre roundabout is flooded and also unpassable”, reports the Mirror.

They continued: “Lacock The Wharf, bridge flooded. Sutton Benger to Christian Malford flooded and blocked by abandoned vehicles. Holt to BOA flooded and unpassable. B3109 Corsham to BOA closed from Fiveways junction.”

They cautioned road users, saying: “Most minor roads have deep standing water, please drive carefully.”

With close to 200 flood warnings still active across England and Wales, travel mayhem is predicted to persist as the country recovers from the severe weather that hassled rail lines with downed trees and damaged power lines, promising further delays into the afternoon.

Homes were engulfed by water, roads transformed into raging rivers and winds of up to 82mph battered parts of the UK. Although the Met Office’s final rain warnings ended at 11.59pm on Sunday, strong winds are predicted to persist and rainfall from elevated areas is expected to reach rivers, potentially hindering clean-up operations.

Storm Bert severely impacted South Wales, prompting a major incident to be declared in the Rhondda Cynon Taf region due to concerns that Bert’s impact could surpass that of Storm Dennis in 2020.

In North Wales, the search for a missing dog walker concluded tragically when a body was discovered during the search for Britan Perry, 75, who vanished while walking his dog near the Afon Conwy river amidst the storm on Saturday.

Another gentleman, in his 80s, also lost his life after his vehicle entered water at a ford in Colne, Lancashire, on Saturday afternoon. It remains uncertain whether this incident was directly linked to Storm Bert.

A woman, also in her 80s, was rescued from the water and is currently hospitalised, with her condition described as not life-threatening.