More than 44,000 litres of water was pumped off one Portsmouth road as part of work to keep the city moving during Storm Ciarán.
Gully tankers removed the remarkable amount of water from the Eastern Road, in addition to thousands of litres removed from roads across the rest of the city.
As well as pumping away surface water flooding there were also 23 callouts for fallen or unsafe trees, several road closures and more than 850 bags of leaves cleared during the week to keep drains working, on top of more than 7,500 removed earlier in October.
Much of the work carried out by staff from Portsmouth City Council and Colas happened overnight meaning by the time most residents awoke the city was largely operating as usual.
Additionally, as part of the council’s severe weather emergency procedure, 28 rough sleepers were offered temporary accommodation to shelter from the storm over three days. They have now been assessed and plans are in place to find more permanent accommodation for them.
Cllr Steve Pitt, Leader of Portsmouth City Council, said: “I’d like to thank all the council and Colas staff involved in the response to Storm Ciarán, most people in the city won’t have noticed much difference and that’s testament to all the hard work put in overnight. Portsmouth was fortunate to have escaped the worst of the storm, but nonetheless our dedicated teams were fully prepared for any scenario.”
Bad weather could continue in the coming days, with yellow weather warnings issued in the region, which may have a greater impact than normal because ground remains waterlogged.
Residents should continue planning their journeys carefully and can stay informed by checking with local transport operators. Anyone driving in wet conditions should reduce their speed for a safer journey
Southern Water is conducting essential repairs to sewers on the Eastern Road. The road will be closed southbound from Farlington Roundabout until the work is completed early next week. The pavement and cycle path will remain open.
