Flooding could last months

Unlike drought-sticken California, the United Kingdom is experiencing severe flooding that could last for some time to come.

Groundwater levels in southern England are so high as a result of months of heavy rain that “even if the rain stopped today, so much water is soaking through the soil that levels are likely to keep rising for another two months,” according to a Feb. 11 article in the UK’s Sky News. Flood risk could remain high until May, according to Andy McKenzie, a British Geological Survey groundwater scientist.

Boreholes used to measure water-table height are overflowing in some areas, with nine out of 14 deemed to have “exceptionally high levels” of groundwater. Last month, the groundwater level measured at one spot in Sussex was higher than at any time in the last 179 years.