Snow and Ice Chaos in the UK
ITN News / ITN news on Friday 18th December
A few days of cold weather accompanied by some short but intense snowfall have wreaked havoc in the United Kingdom.
Roads are littered with abandoned vehicles in many of the worst hit parts of the country. Many people were attempting to retrieve their vehicles as temperatures began to rise slightly today. A number of people are reported to have been trapped in their cars overnight in sub zero temperatures.
There has been a lot of disruption to public transport with bus and train services cancelled and many flights also cancelled. Eurostar high speed trains to and from Europe have suffered break downs due to the ingress of snow into the trains power compartment. Around 2000 Eurostar passengers were trapped for up to 16 hours in the Channel tunnel. Some passengers reported suffering from claustrophobia, some from panic attacks and many have complained about the lack of information.
Eurostar report that they are now returning to a normal high speed train service, after three days out of action. There are now enormous numbers of stranded passengers who all need to be transported from both France and the UK.
The National Health service has told people to stay at home unless their journey is essential. Hospitals have reported unprecedented numbers of people injured as a result of falling on icy pavements.
Since Chrstmas is only a few days away many are forced to venture into their nearby towns to carry out their essential shopping. This is forcing many to venture onto dangerous pavements that are treacherous.
Discussions have already begun regarding how well the UK has coped with this latest round of bad weather. Local councils have been quick to treat main road surfaces with grit and salt but many smaller side roads and pavements have remained untreated.
Back in February 2009 the UK spent several weeks in sub-zero arctic temperatures that wreaked havoc on transportation disrupted schools and work for many people. This latest bought of bad weather is prompting many to ask if the UK is really capable of dealing with cold winter weather.
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