Oxford Under Water

Oxford is under water!   This is the 4th time the Thames and Cherwell rivers have burst their banks in the 2 years we've lived here.  Both of the roads we take in to Oxford are flooded. It now takes about an hour to travel the 3 miles to town.  We have to drive such a convoluted way since the main roads to the south and to the west are flooded.  Thankfully our home and neighborhood are safe and dry even though we are only half a mile from the Thames.  

(Not my photo)  This is Abingdon Road, the road we take from Oxford to our village of Kennington. 

(Not my photo) This is Botley Road, the other spoke we can take to the west. 

(Not my photo)  These are the train tracks from Oxford to Didcot. This means no train service from Oxford to London.  

(Not my photo)  Again, this is Abingdon Road, the southern spoke out of Oxford and our road home.  This is the result of the Thames overflowing it's banks.

These are some of the athletic fields across from Magdalen College in Oxford.  This is the Cherwell that has overflowed it's banks.  

This is a city park near Magdalen College in Oxford

This is the bike path along the Thames that we ride into Oxford.  I took this photo two days ago at the Iffley locks and I've been told that the whole path is now underwater.  

This is the popular Isis Farmhouse Pub by the Iffley Locks and the 4th time in two years that it has been flooded

(Not my photo) This is the Kennington Road in front of John's office at Egrove Park -- another reason we can't drive into Oxford very easily.  This is the main road to our village.

(Not my photo) This is the entrance to the car park on Botley Road.  Sadly, a few cars are still in the lot. 

The latest update for Friday, January 10, 2014

• Botley Road and Abingdon Road are still shut and floods there have worsened in places

• Flood waters will continue to rise in Oxford overnight with river levels rising tomorrow morning

• Homes have been evacuated around Botley Road and residents in Abingdon Road are being       advised to prepare to leave their homes

• Bablock Hythe caravan park residents have also been rescued from their homes

I continue to be impressed with the British spirit.  When the crisis comes, they know how to band together, take care of one another, and roll up their sleeves and get to work. 

Note added on 17 January:  All the roads are open again and the water levels have gone down.  A neighbor who has lived here all of her life (78 years) pointed out to me the the old medieval parts of Oxford (most of the colleges) don't flood.  Back then, they knew what they were doing and left open land and meadows all around the colleges.  For example, Christchurch meadow floods each year but the actual college stays dry.  It's a good thing the colleges own all the open land and they won't built on that land because it is their flood insurance, as well as the playing fields for the students.  It is only the land that has been bought and developed by private developers in the  last 150 years (mostly on or around the flood plains) that floods.