FLOOD! Waist-deep at "Port Authority"

Torrential downpours caused major flooding in London today, wreaking havoc throughout the city. Roads were closed, flights were cancelled, and people had to wade through waist-deep water in central areas. Drivers abandoned their cars (and buses) at the equivalent of 42nd Street. Rainfall, which was already at historic totals for the month, smashed through the records for most precipitation in one hour. Between twelve and 1:oo pm more than 4 inches fell -- which means, according to the nightly newspaper Evening Standard I read on the subway home, we got more rain at lunchtime today than London typically gets in an entire summer month. I had lots of time to read the paper tonight because there were massive delays on the Tube. My ride normally takes twenty minutes but I spent double that time waiting on the platform tonight. But I was one of the lucky ones who still had Underground service. Twenty stations were closed and one train line was completely out of commission. This was the scene at Blackfriars Station near my office:

• Hundreds of people on the platform, all eager to get home, get to the pub, or just get anywhere away from Central London


• They're tired and cranky after a long week of work and they've now been waiting for over half an hour


• A train finally pulls into the station and it's crammed tighter than a can of sardines

Sounds like good times, right? Now consider this: THE LONDON SUBWAY SYSTEM IS NOT AIR CONDITIONED. Much like the weather, this is another sad but true fact of London life. However, as Mayor Ken Livingstone says "It is a problem, and we're working on it!" In fact, in 2003 he offered a £100,000 reward to anyone who could engineer a solution. Why cooling off the Tube is so complicated is another blog for another day. Tonight, it was hot and it was miserable. To make matters worse, anyone who got off the train looking to hit the bar was sadly disappointed—flooding forced most of the businesses near me to close for the day. But a few places managed to stay open, and they were rocking and rolling. People with pints in hand spilled out onto the sidewalk seemingly having a great time. Moral of the story: neither Hell nor high water can keep Londoners out of the pub!