Many
houses in
Birmingham which have been hit by the tornado are thought to be so
unsafe they may now have to be knocked down. Surveying the area just
one day after the event the scale of the damage is very obvious to any
bystander. Entire parks have been destroyed with trees uprooted and
tossed around. Small vans and cars litter the side roads. Many roofs
are without their tiles and in some cases complete roofs have been
ripped away along with much of the surrounding brickwork rendering
these properties unsafe.
A Met
Office
spokesperson said: "This is a tornado with a rating of T3-T4, that
would mean it had wind speeds of between 93-114 mph"
One of
the most
badly damaged areas appears to be around Ladypool Road and the
surrounding Sparkbrook. Some roads are still closed today. Police and
volunteers are still guarding the properties and the council have
started a major make-safe and clean up operation.
Twenty
people were
injured - three seriously - after winds of 130mph were recorded in
Birmingham on Thursday. It is amazing that no one has been killed. The
storm has left a trail of debris across Kings Heath, Moseley and
Sparkbrook and hundreds of contractors are working on repairing the
damaged buildings and making them safe against rain and further damage.
Vans
from local
forestry are at the scene with wood cutting equipment and shredders in
an effort to get the area returned to some sort of normality.
Many
people have
been staying at hastily prepared centres at Aston University, Balsall
Heath Road and at Kings Heath where they have been informed that they
may not be able to return to their homes for at least a week. Some will
be even more unfortunate. Around 200 of the 1000 badly damaged
properties will probably have to be demolished. Structural engineers
are still carrying out assessments in the area.
Several
onlookers at
the scene of the worst damage around Ladypool Road were almost in
tears. Home owners they could only look on helplessly as the workers
went about the massive clean up operation. This is the worst affected
area.
Two
people were
heard arguing about the clean up costs. One was saying that the
government should pay for those that have no insurance while the other
was clearly furious at the suggestion of taxpayers money being spent on
a fund to help those that hadn't bothered to insure their homes and who
were now bleating about how their own lives had been ruined through
their own stupidity.
Birmingham
was
affected by a similar tornado in 1931 which resulted in one death and
severe damage at Hall Green and Small Heath. Whilst this is being
called a tornado it is nothing like the scale of tornados found in more
volatile regions around the world. This was more like a very powerful
whirlwind or mini-tornado.
Today a
tornado hit
Kings Heath, Hall Green, Sparkbrook and Kings Heath. Heavy winds and
rain gained strength as they hit South Birmingham and large areas of
the city were hit by devasting winds and rain.
Trees
were uprooted
and cars overturned as shops and a supermarket were heavily damaged.
Homes in the areas were also badly damaged by the freak weather
conditions. Twelve people have been injured, some seriously in a storm
that lasted around five minutes. Reports are coming in that this is one
of the worst tornados ever to hit the UK.
Battered
by thunder
and lightning roofs and windows suffered most. Debris and tiling from
shattered roofing is scattered over pavements and roads in the area.
Many cars have been damaged by the tornado.
Police
closed off
many roads and traffic congestion was still a problem as people began
to leave offices and shops and make their way home.
