Island Living: Flooding in Britain
Homes in Tiddlington lie under several feet of water.
The worst flooding in 60 years unfurled across Britain in July, blackening medieval towns with power cuts, turning streets into gutters and paradoxically leaving some 350,000 people without running water. In Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, water spilled into the Norman abbey for the first time since 1760, as the town was transformed into an island.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown linked the rain to climate change, while some meteorologists said it was triggered by a change in the position of the polar jet stream that brings wet air over the Atlantic. Whatever the cause, many responded with the resilience on which the British pride themselves. One sign outside an Oxford pub vowed: open for business — come hell or high water.
Most Popular »
- Let Down by a Tiger We Never Knew
- The Stolen E-Mails: Has 'Climategate' Been Overblown?
- How Strong Is the Evidence Against Amanda Knox?
- The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
- Parents' Sex Talk with Kids: Too Little, Too Late
- Five Flawed Assumptions of Obama's Afghan Surge
- The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade from Hell
- Humanure: Goodbye, Toilets. Hello, Extreme Composting
- Jerusalem: A Growing Powder Keg in Mideast
- Did Amanda Knox Get a Fair Murder Trial?
- Parents' Sex Talk with Kids: Too Little, Too Late
- The Stolen E-Mails: Has 'Climategate' Been Overblown?
- Max Baucus and His Women
- Why Has Taiwan's Birthrate Dropped So Low?
- Humanure: Goodbye, Toilets. Hello, Extreme Composting
- Workers of the World vs. China Inc.
- Astronomers Spy a New Planet-Like Object
- Want to Boost Your Memory? Try Sleeping on It
- Jerusalem: A Growing Powder Keg in Mideast
- Morales' Big Win: Voters Ratify His Remaking of Bolivia
Top Stories on TIME.com
Quotes of the Day »
RSS