At least 2 dead in U.K. flooding
(CBS News) Rains in Britain are no headline in Britain, but when it rains nonstop and then rains some more, it's trouble. And parts of the country are having about as much trouble as they can take. At least two people have died in the storms. One woman was killed by a falling tree.
It's not a particularly violent weather system, but it's big, slow-moving, and in some places, brought a months' worth of rain in a day, which, in Britain, is saying something.
Weeks of wet weather had already saturated the ground. There was nowhere for the water to go.
Martin Weiler, an officer of the of the U.K.'s Environmental Agency, said, "This weather, it really has been horrendous, because it has been going on for day after day. It's really important that people remain flood aware, flood alert. The ground is saturated, rivers ... are absolutely swollen."
The cost to property has been high. The worst of the weather has hit England's West Country, the counties of Cornwall and Devon, where residents are used to rain -- but there are limits.
One woman told CBS News, "We got up to do the school run first this morning, noticed it was heavy rain, felt a little bit anxious because we got flooded on the 24th of September as well. And we've come back from the school run and our entire house is flooded again."
Another man said, "Little Zac here was woken up at 4 o'clock in the morning with water in his bedroom, so we had to be evacuated by the fire brigade, in a boat."
Boats were a better option than cars. Many of those who tried to drive soon learned it was a big mistake. And two wheels were not a better option.
It's always a contest in the U.K. between the water and the defenses put up to try to contain it. And this time, the water is winning.
The rain moves north Monday into another area of the country that's already been very wet and more flood warnings are in effect.
For Mark Phillips' full report, watch the video above.