Officials from the U.K.’s Environment Agency accidentally flooded the town of York while attempting to prevent damage to a flood-gate designed to prevent the city from flooding.
Environment Agency officials claimed that water got into the building housing of the flood-gate Sunday, which could have caused an electrical failure. The officials then opened the flood-gates so that the water in the housing could be pumped out, which is easier if the barrier is jammed opened rather than jammed shut.
The open flood-gate caused two rivers to merge, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes and flooding part of York.
“Why did they build it so it could get flooded when it is there to protect from flood?” Local resident Erica Hammill asked reporters.
” You have got to say, a flood barrier with electrics? You know that water will be involved and electricity and water do not mix,” Rachael Maskell, Labour Member of Parliament for York Central, told a London radio station.
Flood waters in the British town of York reached new heights Monday.
York’s local council stated that 500 homes and businesses had been hit by the flooding, with 3,500 other properties expected to be threatened this week. Large parts of the city are still under water after heavy rainfall, but water levels are expected to peak soon.
Five hundred troops were mobilized to help with the emergency effort, with a further 1,000 on standby. Prime Minister David Cameron met with the troops as shown by the Tweet below.
I've been meeting some of the military doing so much to help people hit by floods in York. pic.twitter.com/K5jnnRN8AE
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) December 28, 2015
The combined cost of the flooding could rise to $2.23 billion, according to accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
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