EXTREME rainfall in September and October has left roads and pathways across South Gloucestershire swamped.
Council staff say that in the six weeks from the start of September to October 15, a total of 397.3mm – more than 15 and a half inches – of rainfall was recorded at one of its monitoring stations.
A single storm on October 9 brought 35mm – almost 1 1/2″ – inches of rainfall, leading to 23 callouts to tackle flooding over the following night.
The Met Office said Bristol’s 167.7mm of rainfall recorded in September was 173% more than the long-term average for the month, while Gloucestershire’s 212.2mm was 240% more than average.
A council emergency team delivered more than 300 sandbags on the night of October 9 to residents whose properties were affected in areas including Siston, Winterbourne, Frampton Cotterell, and Coalpit Heath. They also waded through water to shut roads and help monitor the conditions around the network, with Siston among the worst affected.
A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said: “Our StreetCare team has dealt with around 50 reports of flooding over the past weeks with over 40 roads affected and 10 properties.
“September was one of the wettest on record with heavy and sustained periods of rainfall.”