Churches 'Relatively Unscathed' as Thousands Evacuated in Floods

Severe flooding has forced the evacuation of thousands of residents across England and Wales and three people have been killed as heavy rain continued to wreak havoc Tuesday.

|PIC1|Churches in the northern and central regions of England have been frantically trying to help local residents as well as dealing with the damage to their own buildings, although reports suggest churches have escaped the main force of the floods.

Hundreds of families in Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Shropshire have been moved to safety and roads across the region have closed due to the rising water.

St Lawrence's Church in Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster, became a temporary shelter when the undertakers next door were completely inundated with water, The Church of England Newspaper reports.

About 900 people are using emergency shelters in Sheffield, and about 700 left villages near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, due to fears that the nearby Ulley dam would collapse at any moment. Latest reports say the dam has now been stabilised.

On Monday, a man and a teenage boy were swept to their deaths in Sheffield and another man died after becoming trapped in a storm drain in Hull. A motorist is also feared to have been washed away in Worcestershire.

Janine Teale, reader at St Mary Magdalene Church in Whiston near Rotherham, said, "The danger is the reservoir breaking its banks, they've closed the M1 and it's amazing how quiet it is everywhere, all the roads are closed.

"As far as I know they've evacuated some people. The irony is I'm preparing a sermon for Sea Sunday," she told The Church of England Newspaper.

She added: "The whole of Rotherham is flooded, I think people are quite shocked, normally the weather is quite reasonable here but we seem to have bourne the brunt of it."

The Rev Alan Isaacson, team vicar of Treeton, also near Rotherham, has been doing his best to give pastoral support to evacuees.

He shared: "Everyone is very grateful for the emergency services, there's not a great deal we can do as the emphasis is on getting everyone out.

"Local churches are doing all they can to help those affected by the flooding, whether helping their neighbours on a one to one basis or welcoming those who have been evacuated."

Despite the major flooding, Chris Pitt of the largest church insurance group Ecclesiastical has said that most church buildings had escaped "relatively unscathed" from the series of floods across England and Wales.

He told The Church of England Newspaper: "Most claims have been due to water damage to ceilings, but it seems that churches in the areas affected by the flooding are generally on higher ground, and are ancient churches with sturdy foundations."

The Environment Agency has advised people worried about flooding to call its Flood Line on 08459 881 188.