0:00:02 > 0:00:05The British weather is a constant topic of conversation.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09Often unpredictable, it's now having an even bigger effect on our lives.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13Dangerous floods threaten our homes, forest fires devastate
0:00:13 > 0:00:18our countryside, and savage storms ravage our coastlines.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23Today, we find out what happens to Britain when it gets hit by freak weather.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27We'll see the stories of people's lives
0:00:27 > 0:00:30that have been turned upside down by the totally unexpected.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33No way! Look at that!
0:00:33 > 0:00:35No way! There's a tornado!
0:00:35 > 0:00:41And we'll show you how to protect yourself, your home and your family from disaster.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Welcome to Living Dangerously.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51We've all seen the reports of terrible flooding and storm damage,
0:00:51 > 0:00:55but what's it really like when extreme weather nearly ruins lives?
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Today we hear two incredible stories.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Coming up on Living Dangerously...
0:01:01 > 0:01:05It's a lucky escape for a 67-year-old woman when
0:01:05 > 0:01:10a freak tornado rips through her home and community in Birmingham.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15There was just branches of trees and glass everywhere.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20And a teenager from Gloucestershire is left stranded in some of the worst flooding the UK has ever seen.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23I started to lose feeling in my legs initially.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27That's when I started to get worried that I wasn't going to be able to get out.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31With home video, actual footage and reconstruction,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35we show what happened during these real-life weather events.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Birmingham is the UK's second largest city,
0:01:46 > 0:01:53and just a few miles from its centre lies Balsall Heath, which encompasses the Balti Triangle,
0:01:53 > 0:02:00an area named after the abundance of curry houses there which serve this famous dish.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04This neighbourhood is also home to Marilyn Lee.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09It's a very friendly neighbourhood, a very mixed population. It's...
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Well, everybody's very friendly.
0:02:14 > 0:02:1967-year-old Marilyn has lived in Birmingham all her life,
0:02:19 > 0:02:26and after a 30-year career as a nursery nurse, she decided to relax and enjoy a peaceful retirement.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32But on Thursday the 28h of July, 2005,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34a day which started off bright and sunny
0:02:34 > 0:02:39suddenly turned, throwing Marilyn's life into utter chaos.
0:02:39 > 0:02:45This incredible sight over Birmingham's rooftops was captured by one resident on camera.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49No way! Look at that!
0:02:49 > 0:02:51No way! There's a tornado!
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Look at it, man, it's everywhere!
0:02:54 > 0:03:00Marilyn's invited me to her house so I can find out more about what happened on that terrifying day.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06- Hello!- Hi, Marilyn, Nadia.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Pleased to meet you. Can I come in?
0:03:09 > 0:03:10Thank you.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Marilyn, how long have you lived in this house?
0:03:15 > 0:03:1722 years.
0:03:17 > 0:03:18So did you bring your kids up here?
0:03:18 > 0:03:23- No, I didn't, no. I moved here when I got divorced.- A new start?
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Yes, it was a new start, yes. Yes.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28I didn't live that far away before,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31but I didn't really know it that well round here.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34- Do your children live nearby? - They all live really close, yes.
0:03:34 > 0:03:40My one daughter lives very close, just up the steps from here.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43My son must be about a mile away.
0:03:44 > 0:03:51Birmingham often comes up against rain and high winds, but back in July 2005, it was to see
0:03:51 > 0:03:54a side of the weather which would stun local residents
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and wreak havoc through a small close-knit community.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02Marilyn, I'm going to take you back to the 27th of July, 2005.
0:04:02 > 0:04:03What happened on that day?
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Well, on that day, it seemed like a perfectly normal day.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10I think I'd been shopping in the morning and then decided
0:04:10 > 0:04:15to go round to see my son because he was going on holiday the next day,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18and we were just sitting there having a nice little conversation.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23The weather forecast for that day was bright with sunny spells
0:04:23 > 0:04:26and, as predicted, the morning began with sunshine.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30But at 2:15 that afternoon, the weather turned and
0:04:30 > 0:04:34a huge thunder cloud formed around the Balti Triangle area.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Loud rolls of thunder and flashes of lightning startled the locals.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Meanwhile, just one mile up the road,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Marilyn was completely oblivious to this sudden change in the weather.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Tell me how your friend Mark was involved.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55He was looking after my grandson, my younger grandson.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57I remember looking out the window and
0:04:57 > 0:04:59seeing the colour of the sky.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01We just saw this really yellow-purple colour
0:05:01 > 0:05:03like you've never ever seen before.
0:05:03 > 0:05:09And then...maybe 20, 30 seconds later, suddenly this wind just came.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12There's some trees about 30, 40 feet away from us, and they were just
0:05:12 > 0:05:16going absolutely mental. They were just going flying
0:05:16 > 0:05:18in every single direction at the same time.
0:05:18 > 0:05:25That must've gone on for 40, 50 seconds, maybe a minute,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28and once it stopped, it was absolutely serenely calm.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30You couldn't hear a thing.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32The leaves weren't even rustling.
0:05:32 > 0:05:38It's often reported that before a tornado, there is an uneasy calm.
0:05:38 > 0:05:39Thinking that the storm was over,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42locals had no idea they were about to experience
0:05:42 > 0:05:48one of the UK's most extreme weather phenomena in over 70 years.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52And, at 2:30pm, the tornado struck Birmingham.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57The 130mph twister measured 500 metres in width.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Whoa!
0:05:59 > 0:06:01No way! There's a tornado!
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Look at it, man, it's everywhere!
0:06:08 > 0:06:11The swirling vortex had been caused by a band of low-level hot air
0:06:11 > 0:06:18coming up from the tropics, hitting a wall of high-level cold air on its way over from the Arctic,
0:06:18 > 0:06:22creating the perfect conditions for this particular weather event.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Lasting just four minutes, it continued on a seven-mile tirade
0:06:26 > 0:06:29through the districts of the Balti Triangle,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33before moving onto Balsall Heath, tearing up Ladypool and Alder Road,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36then ripping down Birchwood Road,
0:06:36 > 0:06:42destroying everything in its path and causing absolute chaos.
0:06:44 > 0:06:51The people of Birmingham couldn't fight this freak storm and their only option was to run for cover.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Something which is unnatural, or just something you hadn't really experienced before,
0:06:55 > 0:07:00and it had just come from nowhere and had just come really, really quickly.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04You're just fearful of this something which was different
0:07:04 > 0:07:06from your normal experience of life.
0:07:06 > 0:07:14Marilyn was visiting her son just one mile away from her home when she received the startling news.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18I got a telephone call from my younger daughter,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21who told me there'd been a tornado.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23OK. I'm just going to pause you just there.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25We're in Birmingham at the moment.
0:07:25 > 0:07:26Yes. Yes.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Do tornadoes happen regularly in Birmingham?
0:07:29 > 0:07:31No, I have never known one before.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36Apparently they did many, many, MANY years ago, but it's the first one I knew about.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Her daughter had told her that the tornado had ripped through her street,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42leaving a trail of destruction.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Desperate to see if her house was OK, Marilyn and her son headed straight over.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50I got in my car and my son got in his car.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55We drove as close as we could, which was still a good distance away
0:07:55 > 0:08:00because all the roads were blocked with fallen trees and debris and everything.
0:08:00 > 0:08:06The emergency services sprang into action, calling on one of their specialist units 20 miles away
0:08:06 > 0:08:13that are trained to deal with major disasters like earthquakes or tornadoes both at home and abroad.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Station commander Sean Moore got the call.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20The amount of destruction that had actually gone on in our city centre,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23in Birmingham, you know, not far from Birmingham city centre -
0:08:23 > 0:08:26it's the kind of destruction that I've seen overseas,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29and certainly I've been out to two Turkish earthquakes.
0:08:29 > 0:08:36A lot of the damage that was caused was very reminiscent of that type of area and that type of event.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41To see huge trees just completely ripped up out of the ground and loads of cars that had been moved,
0:08:41 > 0:08:49turned on their side, and we even had reports of cars being moved 20, 30 metres down the road.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Just utter amazement, really, that it can happen within a city.
0:08:52 > 0:08:58Sean and his team would seal off roads to trace and analyse the path of the tornado and
0:08:58 > 0:09:02provide specialist dog teams to help the regular fire crew
0:09:02 > 0:09:05locate people trapped in collapsed buildings.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Meanwhile, Marilyn managed to get past the fallen trees and debris
0:09:08 > 0:09:14to reach her street where she was met by a scene of devastation.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19I had the shock of my life to find my house with no roof, windows broken,
0:09:19 > 0:09:26and everything in total chaos with broken trees and branches and
0:09:26 > 0:09:28debris everywhere.
0:09:28 > 0:09:34Marilyn's friend Mark joined her at the catastrophic scene.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37The closer and closer we got to Marilyn's house,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39the worse the devastation became.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44There were trees across the road which you were having to scramble across, massive trunks,
0:09:44 > 0:09:50try and get through branches. You just don't realise how big a tree is until it's actually on the ground.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54And you're starting to see cars which are on their ends.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58It just looked like Beirut. There's walls open, there's roofs open,
0:09:58 > 0:10:02you were expecting to see dead people.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Coming up... How will Birmingham's emergency services cope with such chaos?
0:10:06 > 0:10:12I'm trying to convince them that they needed to come out when you've got unstable chimney stacks.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17One more gust of wind and they could've come straight through the roof and injured more people.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22And Marilyn sees the devastation inside her house for the first time.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26There were just trees and branches everywhere. It was just unbelievable.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Gloucestershire is one of England's most beautiful counties,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38famed for the rolling hills of the Cotswolds and
0:10:38 > 0:10:41its numerous rivers which drain into the Severn and the Thames.
0:10:42 > 0:10:49To the north of the county lies Swindon village, home to 17-year-old Vicky Higgins.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Vicky is a show jumping enthusiast and, as well as caring for her own horse,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56helps looks after her sister's horses
0:10:56 > 0:10:59in a stable half a mile away from her home.
0:10:59 > 0:11:06In 2007, the UK experienced one of the wettest summers in over 240 years,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09causing flooding in many parts of the country.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14The month of June received more than double the average rainfall,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16with some areas encountering
0:11:16 > 0:11:18a month's worth of rain in just one day.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27On July 20th, hot humid air from southern Europe
0:11:27 > 0:11:30met with cold air coming from the Atlantic,
0:11:30 > 0:11:35resulting in unimaginable rainfall over the Gloucestershire area.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42That morning, Vicky and her family woke up to a shocking sight.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48Getting up, I looked out my window, cos I do it every morning,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50and I just looked on my driveway
0:11:50 > 0:11:53and the whole half of my driveway was flooded!
0:11:53 > 0:11:56And the car was parked right up against my window,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59so obviously we just weren't getting out.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01We'd have flooded the engine.
0:12:01 > 0:12:02The water was just gushing
0:12:02 > 0:12:04down the side of the house.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06My neighbour has opened his drain
0:12:06 > 0:12:08to try and get rid of the water and it was gushing down.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13It was just torrential rain and it just kept getting worse and worse.
0:12:13 > 0:12:19The road outside our house flooded and gradually things were just grinding to a halt.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23A few miles down the road, Cinderford Fire and Rescue team
0:12:23 > 0:12:27had already received dozens of calls for help,
0:12:27 > 0:12:33unaware they were on the brink of one of the worst civil emergencies the UK had ever seen.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37The calls were being stacked up by our control because the volume was so high
0:12:37 > 0:12:40and all the pumps were stretched to the limit so,
0:12:40 > 0:12:44as we finished one call, we would then book ourselves available
0:12:44 > 0:12:49from that incident and control would then direct us on to the next incident.
0:12:49 > 0:12:55Tremendous. The water, the houses, the people suffering.
0:12:55 > 0:12:56Just beyond belief, to be honest.
0:12:58 > 0:13:04Throughout the day, the water was continuing to rise and the flooding was worsening by the minute.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09At 2:30 that afternoon, Vicky's mum got a call from her other daughter,
0:13:09 > 0:13:16Kate, who had left the house that morning to go to work but was now stranded and unable to return home.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22I said to Vicky, "You stay here, I'll go and get Kate,"
0:13:22 > 0:13:25and it took me about an hour to get to Tewkesbury which is about
0:13:25 > 0:13:30a 10, 15 minute drive and, by the time I got back,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Vicky had gone!
0:13:32 > 0:13:35A lady just rang the house and said...
0:13:35 > 0:13:38I don't know how she got our number or anything like that.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43I don't know how she managed to contact us, but her house overlooked where our horses were.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45And she said
0:13:45 > 0:13:50they only had about ten feet of water...of the land left before the water was going to be covering it,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53so I was like, "Oh, OK then, I'd better go down.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55"I'll be down in a minute," sort of thing.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59With the rain continuing to pour down,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Vicky was growing more concerned for the welfare of her horses.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06She then made a decision which she would later regret.
0:14:06 > 0:14:12At 3pm, she left the house and decided to attempt the rescue alone.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16When I went outside, the rain was still really, really heavy.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20It was really, really thick and I was going to go the road way,
0:14:20 > 0:14:27which is the way I've always walked, but obviously with the cars floating in the water,
0:14:27 > 0:14:34I don't really think it would be such a great idea if I decided to wade through there,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38so I walked the back route, which I thought would be safer, but it wasn't.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43It wasn't safer at all. It was completely the wrong thing to do.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Halfway through her journey, Vicky ran into trouble.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Because of the sheer volume of water flowing down from the neighbouring hills,
0:14:50 > 0:14:56what was normally a perfectly dry public footpath running under a railway bridge
0:14:56 > 0:15:00had been transformed into a raging torrent of water
0:15:00 > 0:15:03which Vicky had to cross to get to the horses.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06I could feel it getting deeper as I walked in
0:15:06 > 0:15:09and then obviously the current got too strong when it got past my knees,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12and my knees couldn't fight it any more, so I thought,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14"Right, I'm going to have to turn back."
0:15:14 > 0:15:18And when I started to turn back, that's when I noticed
0:15:18 > 0:15:21that the water was getting deeper and deeper really quickly.
0:15:21 > 0:15:28With no option of going forwards or backward, Vicky decided her best option was to stand on a rock
0:15:28 > 0:15:36submerged beneath the water, and for stability, she grabbed onto a large tree branch to keep her steady.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Vicky soon forgot about the safety of the horses
0:15:38 > 0:15:42as she now realised that her own life was at serious risk.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46It wasn't the height of the water so much, but the current was getting
0:15:46 > 0:15:51a lot stronger, and like...with every hour that went past, it was just getting stronger and stronger.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56That really was my biggest worry because that was what was taking me
0:15:56 > 0:15:58and that was I was trying to hold onto the branch from,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01was just the current, it was so strong.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04The rain was continuing to pour down throughout the county.
0:16:04 > 0:16:10With 10,000 motorists stranded and 5,000 homes and businesses flooded,
0:16:10 > 0:16:13this really was becoming a major disaster.
0:16:13 > 0:16:19Back at home, with Vicky missing, her mum Laura was getting extremely worried.
0:16:19 > 0:16:25When we got home and Vicky was nowhere to be seen, I just couldn't think where she was.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28I eventually got hold of her on the phone
0:16:28 > 0:16:32and she was screaming down the phone, "I'm stuck under the Stony Bridge!"
0:16:32 > 0:16:38I thought, "No-one's going to believe me that the water's this deep and the currents are this strong.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40"They'll all just going to think I'm being silly."
0:16:40 > 0:16:43So I got my phone out and I videoed it.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00I was just going to video up the stream and then my phone died and I couldn't turn it back on.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01It was really stupid.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05I should've rung emergency services first before I did that,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08but just the video seemed more important at the time!
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Vicky may be laughing now, but at the time, she was in a desperate situation.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15By 4pm, the rainfall was at its peak.
0:17:15 > 0:17:22The water started rising rapidly and moving faster, and Vicky was in danger of being swept away.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27Her mum and sister ran across the local school playing fields, which luckily weren't flooded
0:17:27 > 0:17:31and, after a ten-minute journey, they finally arrived at the bridge.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33We eventually got there and we were wading through water.
0:17:33 > 0:17:39It was up to our waists and we saw her and she was stuck on the other side of a torrent of water,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43which is just usually a footpath, hanging onto a tree.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47The first thing I did was try to get across to her, so I tried to
0:17:47 > 0:17:50get across the water over the gate, but it was just too strong.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54The current was... It would've just swept anything.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57There were bits of wood and rocks and things being thrown down there,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00and you just couldn't have got across it.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05Mum was desperately trying to get me. There was the five-bar gate that the water was crashing over
0:18:05 > 0:18:10and Mum was trying to climb it, but it just wasn't happening. It just really wasn't happening.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18She'd now been stranded for over an hour, and with the water reaching speeds of up to 2mph,
0:18:18 > 0:18:25Vicky's mum realised her daughter was in a very dangerous situation and immediately called for help.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29It took ages to get through to the police because obviously everybody
0:18:29 > 0:18:34was trying to phone the police, and eventually I got through,
0:18:34 > 0:18:39and it took about an hour for them to come out cos they were so busy, couldn't get anywhere.
0:18:39 > 0:18:45- The roads were jammed up everywhere. - Vicky was stranded in cold water of ten degrees centigrade.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49She desperately needed help, but when the police finally arrived,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52they were faced with an impossible task.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56There was a wall leading up to the train tracks and they tried to climb up there and
0:18:56 > 0:18:59walk down the wall the other side, and try and
0:18:59 > 0:19:03lift me up onto the wall so I could walk up and walk down the train tracks,
0:19:03 > 0:19:08but that couldn't happen because the brambles and the nettles were just too high.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11They tried all sorts of things to get to her.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14They took a goal post down to try and reach across to her,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17they tried climbing down the railway embankment.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21There were so many failed attempts, so many failed attempts,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23but you could see that they were trying!
0:19:23 > 0:19:28I just didn't know how we were going to get her out cos she couldn't move.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30I was just really frightened.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Really frightened.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Coming up on Living Dangerously...
0:19:36 > 0:19:39As Vicky gets weaker struggling against the fast-moving water,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42it's a battle for the emergency services to save her.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46I started to get more worried that I wasn't going to be able to get out.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50And how will the county recover from such freak flash flooding?
0:19:50 > 0:19:53We're worried it's going to happen again.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55It was really terrifying at the time.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Earlier on, a small community in Birmingham was left devastated
0:20:03 > 0:20:07by Britain's worst tornado in over 70 years.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13Local resident, Marilyn Lee, was visiting her son just one mile away when the tornado hit.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18I got a telephone call from my younger daughter
0:20:18 > 0:20:21who told me there'd been a tornado.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26After hearing the news, she returned home to find her street virtually destroyed.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34What was the atmosphere like out in the street between all the neighbours and the services?
0:20:34 > 0:20:38Um, well, the atmosphere on the street was
0:20:38 > 0:20:41total shock and confusion, um...
0:20:41 > 0:20:43and the fact that everybody, really,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47was desperate to come back and look in their houses,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50but we weren't allowed in because they weren't sure
0:20:50 > 0:20:52if they were safe enough.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56The fire brigade crack team trained to deal with natural disasters
0:20:56 > 0:21:00finally arrived on the scene in their specialist vehicles.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Led by Commander Sean Moore, the first step was to evacuate
0:21:03 > 0:21:07hundreds of civilians whose lives were still in danger.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10We got there about an hour and a half after
0:21:10 > 0:21:12the tornado had actually gone through
0:21:12 > 0:21:14but we had our first response crews,
0:21:14 > 0:21:20they were actually on the ground within five minutes so, yeah, they were able to deal with
0:21:20 > 0:21:25the first people that had actually started the evacuation of their particular houses.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30We found buildings where they were structurally unstable but the occupants were very, very...
0:21:30 > 0:21:34They didn't want to leave those buildings.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37They were worried that, if they left, their houses may be looted.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42We spent a lot of time trying to convince them that they needed to come out because,
0:21:42 > 0:21:46certainly when you've got unstable chimney stacks, one more gust of wind
0:21:46 > 0:21:50and they could've come through the roof and basically injured a lot more people.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55Although the weather returned to a bright sunny day, the effects of
0:21:55 > 0:22:00this terrifying attack were having a major impact on the community.
0:22:00 > 0:22:06It took the specialist team three hours to get everyone out of their houses and clear the street
0:22:06 > 0:22:11of stunned residents, horrified by the utter chaos caused by this unpredictable strike of nature.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15We've had an awful lot of training in dealing with collapsed structures
0:22:15 > 0:22:22and earthquakes overseas. So with the type of destruction that had gone on,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24as in lots of houses had lost roofs,
0:22:24 > 0:22:29there were buildings that were in an unstable state,
0:22:29 > 0:22:33what we were asked to do was go round and check that there was nobody left
0:22:33 > 0:22:36inside those buildings, and to make an assessment of buildings that
0:22:36 > 0:22:40perhaps needed shoring up before we could send our teams in.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43We also had access to specialist canine search dogs,
0:22:43 > 0:22:47so on the day in question, we were actually able to bring dogs in
0:22:47 > 0:22:50from mid and west Wales and from Merseyside.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53There were there in a very short period of time so, again,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57we sent the dogs into the buildings that had the biggest amount of damage
0:22:57 > 0:23:02just to confirm that there were no people hiding under beds and so on and so forth.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07With everyone evacuated, the specialist team established which houses were safe to enter,
0:23:07 > 0:23:12and their residents were allowed to go back into their homes to pick up essential belongings.
0:23:12 > 0:23:19Accompanied by her friend Mark, Marilyn was finally allowed to see the inside of her house.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22Mark took along his video camera to capture this exceptional scene.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26There was just branches of trees
0:23:26 > 0:23:28and glass everywhere.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Had they come through the wall as well?
0:23:30 > 0:23:33The damage had just come through the windows
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and there was a very big branch through my downstairs window.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Marilyn was in just a state of shock.
0:23:39 > 0:23:46She could see the roof was damaged, every window was smashed, her garden was devastated.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50It had been a really bad, frightening experience.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53What did you see the first time you walked in here?
0:23:53 > 0:23:57Total destruction. There was a big branch through that window there,
0:23:57 > 0:24:05and there was bits of branches and twigs and everything all over the floor, and broken glass as well.
0:24:05 > 0:24:12Everything was just total mess, with debris from the trees and the glass everywhere.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16- How did you feel when you came in and saw it for the first time? - Um, just total shock.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20- Yeah?- Yeah. - And what had happened upstairs?
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Well, upstairs, from the back bedroom, a lot of the stuff from
0:24:23 > 0:24:28- the back bedroom had been blown through into the front bedroom. - Oh, right.
0:24:28 > 0:24:34We actually had to get on the floor to find some bits of my jewellery and stuff like that as well.
0:24:34 > 0:24:40And in the front bedroom, there's a little sort of cupboard wardrobe up there
0:24:40 > 0:24:45with a great bit of glass that was just sticking out the door. But that was total...
0:24:45 > 0:24:51You know, it was the same upstairs with bits of branches and twigs and glass everywhere.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53The luck that you weren't here!
0:24:53 > 0:24:55It could've done you some serious damage.
0:24:55 > 0:25:01- Yes, yes, it was very lucky, really. - How did you feel when you saw that piece of glass upstairs?
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Oh, quite horrified, you know!
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Oh, my gosh, if anybody had been standing there,
0:25:06 > 0:25:08it would've done so much damage.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Thank goodness there wasn't.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16Amazingly, there were no fatalities and only 19 people were injured.
0:25:16 > 0:25:23Many homes and local businesses were wrecked, making it a costly clean-up operation.
0:25:23 > 0:25:29Marilyn's road was amongst four others that experienced the full force of the tornado.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31How was Ladypool Road affected?
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Well, Ladypool Road, which isn't far from here,
0:25:34 > 0:25:39was very badly affected as well, and there's a lot of restaurants
0:25:39 > 0:25:43down Ladypool Road because it's part of the Balti Triangle,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47so obviously all the businesses had to close down
0:25:47 > 0:25:49and it was quite an unsafe area.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53If you walked down the road to the various meetings that were being held,
0:25:53 > 0:25:58you did have to walk in the middle of the road for quite a while.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03And obviously all the restaurant owners, as I said before, and everybody else
0:26:03 > 0:26:07lost some trade for quite a little while, really.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10But there was a lot of damage down there as well.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15With her house in ruins, Marilyn had no option but to take shelter with her family.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18I stayed at my daughter Kate's house
0:26:18 > 0:26:24- and I actually stayed there for a few months, actually.- How was that?
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Lovely!
0:26:26 > 0:26:33But I then went and lived with my other daughter because my daughter Kate was about to have the baby,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36so I then moved in with my other daughter.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39And once the insurance people had come to see the house,
0:26:39 > 0:26:40what did they tell you?
0:26:40 > 0:26:44It took four months before they actually started any work.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46We were all getting very anxious
0:26:46 > 0:26:50that the work hadn't actually been started, but once it was,
0:26:50 > 0:26:54um...everything did get going then OK.
0:26:54 > 0:27:00Coming up... After the tornado destroyed her home, Marilyn tries to get her life back to normal.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04I took a while to settle back in when we did get back.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Everybody said they didn't still feel right.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08And I meet the head of Birmingham Council
0:27:08 > 0:27:12to find out what prevention plans they have for the future.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15I've spent a whole day there talking to residents, and we realise that we
0:27:15 > 0:27:18got the communication place in the wrong part.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Earlier on, teenager Vicky Higgins set off on a mission
0:27:24 > 0:27:28to save her sister's horses which were stranded in a flooded field
0:27:28 > 0:27:30just half a mile from her home.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34But halfway into her journey, Vicky ran into trouble.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48What used to be a public footpath had now turned into a raging torrent of water.
0:27:48 > 0:27:54Unable to move forwards or backwards, Vicky had no option but to take sanctuary on a rock.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57I managed to get down and then I stood on a verge
0:27:57 > 0:27:59and then I just held onto a tree.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02The police arrived at the scene but were unable to rescue her,
0:28:02 > 0:28:07so they called the local Fire and Rescue team for help.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10There were so many failed attempts, so many failed attempts.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14At 6pm, they finally arrived at the bridge.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18When we arrived, the nearest we could get to the incident was probably quarter of a mile.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22We then had to run through the flood water with our fire kit on,
0:28:22 > 0:28:24carrying water rescue equipment -
0:28:24 > 0:28:28the bags, throwing lines, lifejackets, that sort of thing -
0:28:28 > 0:28:34in full fire kit, until we got to the torrent where this lady was trapped.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Gareth then took the decision that it was too dangerous for us to
0:28:38 > 0:28:40cross the water. It was just too strong.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47When the fire brigade came, that's when I started to notice
0:28:47 > 0:28:51the water had gone from the bottom of my thigh to the middle of my thigh,
0:28:51 > 0:28:56and then I started to lose feeling in my legs, which was scary cos I couldn't feel the rock I was on,
0:28:56 > 0:29:01and obviously that was a thing of support for me, like to try and keep me there, but when I lost
0:29:01 > 0:29:07that feeling initially, that's when I started to get even more worried that I wasn't going to be able to get out.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09That was scary.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Vicky had now been stranded for three hours.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17With the rain pouring down and the current getting stronger by the second,
0:29:17 > 0:29:22the chance of her being swept away was becoming more of a terrifying reality.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26The water obviously was very, very powerful.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30We had an undercurrent that was constantly pushing at your legs, at your feet.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32You could feel your feet being...
0:29:32 > 0:29:34You know, they wanted to go from under you.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38The rocks were rushing along as well and, you know,
0:29:38 > 0:29:42you could've easily slipped or been pushed over by one of those.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45Of course, you've all the other things that accompany a flood -
0:29:45 > 0:29:50sewage and drainage water and all sorts of things are mixed in with
0:29:50 > 0:29:54the water, so apart from the immediate danger of drowning,
0:29:54 > 0:29:57you've also got the danger of possible infection.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59I didn't know what we were going to do.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01I didn't know how we were going to get Vicky out
0:30:01 > 0:30:03cos it was still raining.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06You know, the water was still rising slowly and
0:30:06 > 0:30:09I just couldn't see how we were going to do it.
0:30:09 > 0:30:15Vicky's mum and the firefighters were standing on the other side of the cascading water.
0:30:15 > 0:30:20The rescue team needed to get to the other bank and closer to Vicky to get her to safety.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25We had to find the best way up and over the other side, which involved us
0:30:25 > 0:30:29fighting our way through the brambles and nettles
0:30:29 > 0:30:32that had choked the railway embankment.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36We climbed to the top, forcing our way through with our fire kit, using it as a barrier.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40When we got to the top, we forced our way back down the embankment then
0:30:40 > 0:30:47in the same fashion, carrying all our equipment, until we got close enough to start the rescue of the girl.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52Being swept away by the water wasn't the only threat Vicky faced.
0:30:52 > 0:30:58There are many other hidden dangers, as fast-moving water expert, Doug Kemp, knows only too well.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03Water transmits heat away from the body 25 times faster than air,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07and if you're static and the water's moving around you,
0:31:07 > 0:31:09up to 250 times faster than air.
0:31:09 > 0:31:14So hypothermia has quickly sort of removed your ability to function in a normal manner.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19Your aspect changes as your brain senses that you're failing to move your arms and legs
0:31:19 > 0:31:25in a logical manner, so your head comes up to avoid the water, your body aspect changes and down you go.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29Vicky set out that day to save her horses from the floods,
0:31:29 > 0:31:33but the rescue operation had now become all about her.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37She'd now been standing in the water for three and a half hours.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Her physical health was deteriorating rapidly,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43and with the water's temperature at just ten degrees centigrade,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46the threat of hypothermia was becoming more real.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50Fire-fighters were trying desperately to save Vicky, but the water
0:31:50 > 0:31:52had now risen above her waist and
0:31:52 > 0:31:54she was starting to lose her balance.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58It was probably about half an hour they were there before they
0:31:58 > 0:32:03walked all the way round and waded up the torrent towards her to try and get her.
0:32:03 > 0:32:08After crossing the bridge, the rescue team were now on the same side of the water as Vicky.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13On the ground, eight fire-fighters made a human chain into the water and upstream
0:32:13 > 0:32:15against the terrifying current.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19They got as close to her as they could but there was still a large gap,
0:32:19 > 0:32:24and Vicky literally needed to take a huge leap of faith.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27It was just getting her reassured and getting her confidence -
0:32:27 > 0:32:29you know, "Come on, we're going to help you
0:32:29 > 0:32:33"and we're going to get you out. Trust us,
0:32:33 > 0:32:38"and we're going to trust you," and actually get her confidence to let go of the branch.
0:32:38 > 0:32:45I had to sort of like step in the water and then almost like jump to the fire service.
0:32:45 > 0:32:51And obviously it took a hell of a lot of coaxing from the fire brigade and my mum
0:32:51 > 0:32:55to actually try and make me get off the first bit.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57Getting her to come to us...
0:32:57 > 0:33:01I mean, Chris was enticing her across, telling her, "Come on, you're safe,"
0:33:01 > 0:33:06cos we'd got within about a yard of her, but she was hesitant about letting go that tree,
0:33:06 > 0:33:11and I could understand why, cos the torrent of water would've washed her away.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16Vicky finally took the plunge and jumped into the arms of the firemen.
0:33:17 > 0:33:22When I finally got to the first fire brigade man and he was just like, "Brilliant we've got her!
0:33:22 > 0:33:26"Let's pass her on," then I was getting passed along and I was just thinking,
0:33:26 > 0:33:28"This is absolutely brilliant.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30"I've finally got out." It was amazing. It was brilliant.
0:33:30 > 0:33:35After a four-hour ordeal, Vicky was finally on safe ground.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38I jumped through the fence and Mum was like,
0:33:38 > 0:33:40"Oh, my God, I'm so happy you're safe!"
0:33:40 > 0:33:44And that was when I was like, "Yes, I'm safe. It's brilliant."
0:33:44 > 0:33:48When the fire brigade actually got to her,
0:33:48 > 0:33:53I was so relieved to see Vicky walking up behind them and safe.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Concerned for her health, the paramedics took her straight
0:33:57 > 0:34:00to Cheltenham General Hospital one and a half miles away.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06When I went to the hospital, they gave me a cup of tea, some food.
0:34:06 > 0:34:12They just... They just did some tests on me and they were just like, "Yeah, you're fine. You're absolutely fine."
0:34:12 > 0:34:16I was like, "Brilliant! I haven't got hypothermia. That's brilliant."
0:34:16 > 0:34:22While Vicky was safe, the rest of the county was still struggling.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26Gloucester Fire and Rescue received 18,000 calls in just 12 hours,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30and 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33Thousands of lives were thrown into turmoil.
0:34:33 > 0:34:3648,000 people were left without electricity for two days
0:34:36 > 0:34:42and over half of Gloucestershire's homes were left without drinking water for over two weeks.
0:34:42 > 0:34:48The estimated cost to repair the county's roads was £25 million,
0:34:48 > 0:34:53and, even more devastating, the floods also took three lives that day.
0:34:54 > 0:35:00If you become a victim of flash flooding, there are some precautions you can take.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03The key advice when you're faced with a flood,
0:35:03 > 0:35:06I would go with the stay indoors, keep yourself warm and safe.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09If you've got a problem, 999, get somebody professional
0:35:09 > 0:35:13to come and sort you out that's wearing all the right equipment.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15What you're not going to do is go outside
0:35:15 > 0:35:18and try and swim through it, drive your car through it.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22Much better just to stay put, wait for the local authorities to come and get you.
0:35:25 > 0:35:31Remarkably, Vicky managed to escape this terrible ordeal without serious injury.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35The horses also survived, and although their field was flooded,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38they managed to stay on higher ground.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43It's now two years on, and Vicky has come back to meet the men who saved her life.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47I didn't realise the time had gone so quickly.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51My mum told me what the time was when I got out and I was like,
0:35:51 > 0:35:53"Oh my God, I've been in there for so long!"
0:35:53 > 0:35:57It was lucky I had my waterproofs on, otherwise I'd have been even colder.
0:35:57 > 0:36:02They were all incredibly brave and the one who said he fell over when he got to the top of the tracks
0:36:02 > 0:36:06and the other one kicked him and said, "We've got a girl to rescue!"
0:36:06 > 0:36:07They were all incredibly brave.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11'I'm really grateful to all of them for everything that they've done.'
0:36:11 > 0:36:12Thank you. Thank you!
0:36:20 > 0:36:24Earlier on, in July 2005, Britain's worst tornado
0:36:24 > 0:36:28in over 70 years hit an area just south of Birmingham city centre.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31No way! Look at that!
0:36:31 > 0:36:34No way! There's a tornado!
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Look at it, man, it's everywhere!
0:36:36 > 0:36:41At the time, 67-year-old Marilyn Lee was visiting her son one mile away
0:36:41 > 0:36:45but she returned home to find that her house had been devastated.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49Did you end up seeing your house in the news and the papers?
0:36:49 > 0:36:56Yes, it was in the papers and on the news, and I think in nearly every photograph of it,
0:36:56 > 0:36:58my house was in the newspapers.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01How did you feel, seeing those images?
0:37:01 > 0:37:07Um...well, you would be... You would be a bit distant from it in a way.
0:37:07 > 0:37:13- "Oh, yes, that's my house there," you know?- Really surreal. - Yes, yes, really strange.
0:37:13 > 0:37:18No-one affected by the tornado will ever forget what happened that day.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22The images of devastation will stay with people for the rest of their lives.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26Has anything positive come out of this experience?
0:37:26 > 0:37:30Well, I think everybody's back to normal now, but at the time it was...
0:37:30 > 0:37:35You know, everybody was supporting each other cos you'd all been through the same situation.
0:37:35 > 0:37:42Um...and also, there were several meetings that kept happening all the time, so everybody knew
0:37:42 > 0:37:46what was going on and support from the council,
0:37:46 > 0:37:51and also what improvements that we wanted in the area anyway.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56Four years on and Marilyn has finally settled back in her home
0:37:56 > 0:38:01that's been rebuilt and shows no trace of the calamity the befell it.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05The fear of this happening again is something that the people of Birmingham
0:38:05 > 0:38:10have learned to live with, but the psychological effects will stay with Marilyn forever.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14Do you think you're over it now or do you still carry some of the trauma from it?
0:38:14 > 0:38:18Um...yes, I am over it now, very much so. It took a while.
0:38:18 > 0:38:24It was really strange as well that everybody was dying to get back
0:38:24 > 0:38:29into their homes, and it was eight months we were actually out...
0:38:29 > 0:38:33but it took a while to settle back in when we did get back.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37Everybody said they didn't still feel right. It was really strange, really.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40But, no, everything's just back to normal now
0:38:40 > 0:38:42and you don't really think about it.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46And that feeling when you moved back in - was it because you felt vulnerable
0:38:46 > 0:38:48or was it maybe that it felt like a different house?
0:38:48 > 0:38:51It took a while to settle back.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54It was almost like moving into a new house, and yet it didn't seem like
0:38:54 > 0:38:59a new house anyway, but the feeling you would get when you've just moved.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02So it's really strange.
0:39:02 > 0:39:09A thousand properties were damaged in the disaster and the cost of the reparations came to £40 million.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13After three months, the Balti Triangle declared they were back in business.
0:39:13 > 0:39:20How did you deal with this huge shock you'd been through over those months?
0:39:20 > 0:39:23Well, everybody said I seemed all right, but inside,
0:39:23 > 0:39:24I wasn't really.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29Um...and I also think, when my daughter Kate had the baby,
0:39:29 > 0:39:33I always said she was my anti-depressant!
0:39:33 > 0:39:35Because I did... You know, I...
0:39:35 > 0:39:38Well, I came over here every day.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41It's, um...very strange, really,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44because you're sort of still drawn back to the area.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48I'd see the progress going on, but there was so much to sort out,
0:39:48 > 0:39:49it was unbelievable.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55I've come to meet Stephen Hughes, the Chief Executive of Birmingham City Council,
0:39:55 > 0:39:59to find out what they've learned from this experience.
0:40:01 > 0:40:06Stephen, I'm sure you must've learnt many lessons from that emergency.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09What were they and how have you acted upon them?
0:40:09 > 0:40:11Yeah, there were lots of lessons to learn.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14I think the key one was about getting communication right.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17People who are affected by events like this
0:40:17 > 0:40:19really want to know what's happening.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22We had the people going in and fixing all the structures
0:40:22 > 0:40:23and making everything safe,
0:40:23 > 0:40:27but they wanted to know about their property, when they could go back,
0:40:27 > 0:40:30what the sequence of events was going to be.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32You can't do too much communication.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37- Are there any practical steps that people can take in an emergency like this?- It's simple things.
0:40:37 > 0:40:43Have a first-aid kit, have some bottled water, have emergency numbers on your mobile phone,
0:40:43 > 0:40:49that kind of thing, so that you can react to the situation and get help if you need it,
0:40:49 > 0:40:53or look after yourself in the immediate aftermath.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57So that's the kind of advice that we give out and try and encourage people to take up.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59Well, impossible to plan for a tornado.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03It was an extraordinary event, really.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05Absolutely unique.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09The worst natural disaster that has hit Birmingham and we were really fortunate
0:41:09 > 0:41:15that we were able to deal with the situation as well as we did.
0:41:15 > 0:41:20- And I have to say, Stephen, it was also your first day on the job, wasn't it?- It was.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25First day as Acting Chief Executive was when the tornado hit Birmingham.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29From that, I suppose, it couldn't really have got much worse, could it?
0:41:29 > 0:41:32- Great first day! - Thanks very much.- Thank you, Stephen.
0:41:34 > 0:41:39Marilyn has come to terms with the horrific events of 2005
0:41:39 > 0:41:43and is once again able to relax and enjoy a peaceful retirement.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47Oh, this is smashing, isn't it?
0:41:47 > 0:41:54- Is this all new, Marilyn?- Yes, this has all been redone now because the garden was totally destroyed as well,
0:41:54 > 0:41:58and the fences down and the shed destroyed, and the bench and everything.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01How do you feel about this, then?
0:42:01 > 0:42:04I'm very happy with the way it is now. It's very nice.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08- So what's new here? What was this like before? - Well, that was just...
0:42:08 > 0:42:12I had a bed that went down to there and that's still the same as it was,
0:42:12 > 0:42:17apart from having the edging on the side there.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21And this was plain, so I had new tiles there, and the raised bed
0:42:21 > 0:42:26and everything, so it does in fact look a lot nicer than it did before.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30All the plants are new. The insurance company cleared the garden.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34The perfect spot for a nice chilled glass of white wine, I would say.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38It is indeed, yes, cos it's a nice sun trap and it's very nice, yes.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40THEY LAUGH
0:42:43 > 0:42:47Thankfully, all these people have survived the effects of freak weather.
0:42:47 > 0:42:52Join us next time for more amazing true stories on Living Dangerously.
0:42:58 > 0:43:02Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:43:02 > 0:43:07E-maul subtitling@bbc.co.uk