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 lasting a few hours on October 9 brought 35mm – almost 1 1/2″ – inches of rainfall, leading to 23 call outs 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.
Rain at the end of September led to flood warnings on the River Frome, and swamped the walkway at Lincombe Barn Woods in Downend.
A further deluge in October washed away a section of the path at the woods.
A council emergency team delivered more than 300 sandbags on the night of October 9 to residents whose properties were affected in areas including Frampton Cotterell, Siston, Winterbourne and Coalpit Heath.
They also waded through water to shut roads and help monitor the conditions around the network, with roads in Winterbourne, Henfield and 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 across the region causing rivers to overflow and surface water to run-off from fields directly onto local roads, causing significant disruption.
“Our StreetCare team has been out in all weathers and working around the clock when necessary to manage the impacts and support residents by distributing hundreds of sandbags and reopening the affected roads as quickly as possible.”