Tragic news from Shropshire as a man in his 60s has passed away after being swept away by flood water when a brook breached a road. The victim went under the water near Cleobury Mortimer at around 10:40 BST on Friday and his body was found by police officers, paramedics, and firefighters at around 12:35 BST. The incident occurred as Storm Babet centered around the UK, and the West Midlands thus was hit with heavy rainfall. The man was from the area, and his family was being supported by West Mercia Police.
Elsewhere in Bewdley, Worcestershire, flood barriers were not put up in time to safeguard homes and businesses by the River Severn. Staff at The Mug House, on Severn Side North, had to scramble to get sandbags in place and move furniture out of the ground floor, as floodwaters began inundating their property and others. “It’s a massive surprise to everybody because normally the Environment Agency (EA) are very good, very on the ball,” said Eddie Hill, the pub manager. The EA confirmed that installing barriers had become very perilous as the flood waters grew higher, which then led to flooding.
A woman was also rescued from fast-flowing water in Staffordshire after being swept away 100m downstream from her car while trying to drive through a ford in Wombourne. She got out of the automobile and was later swept downstream in the raging waters before grabbing hold of a tree branch, according to the fire service. Meanwhile, in Northfield, Birmingham, a man had to climb onto the roof of his car when it was pushed 30 meters down a fast-flowing river. The fire team reported that he had a “lucky escape” after he managed to use a tree branch to reach the embankment.
Over the course of 24 hours, the storm deposited a significant amount of rainfall in the West Midlands, with 43mm (1.7 inches) recorded by the Met Office in Shawbury, Shropshire. Many regional roads were closed off, while over a dozen schools were shut, mainly in Worcestershire. As of Friday evening, 28 flood warnings issued by the EA were in effect for waterways across the West Midlands, as well as 17 flood alerts
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