A shopkeeper on Caledonian Road has said he has “lost everything” after his store was flooded when a Thames Water pipe broke on the high street on Tuesday.
Brown water tore down Caledonian Road “like a river” on Tuesday afternoon after a 36-inch waterpipe burst, prompting emergency evacuations and dramatic rescues.
Six fire engines, dozens of firefighters and two specialist rescue units were deployed to the scene in Islington at around 1.45 pm. The London Fire Brigade confirmed that around 50 people and three dogs were rescued using dinghies.
While there were no injuries reported, locals recovering on Wednesday morning spoke of the human impact of the flooding.
Mohammed, who has run a shop on Caledonian Road for 17 years, said the floods have “devastated” his livelihood.
Read more: Follow the aftermath of our flooding in our live blog.
“This is all my life”, he said, “Everything is destroyed. I’m stuck. This shop is how I make money to survive — for my children, my mortgage, to renting the shop,
“To build it up over 17 years, and today? I've got no job.”
He described the experience of watching helplessly as water forced its way inside on Tuesday afternoon.
“At around 3 o'clock yesterday, crazy water was coming into the shop,” he said. “After two minutes, it was inside, and I couldn’t stop it. Two people were pushing the door.”
Within moments, the basement, where his most valuable stock is stored, was plunged under 3 feet of water.
“I can't go inside to see because everything is completely gone,” he said. “Everything is expensive. I can’t even calculate the cost of everything that’s gone.”
He went on: “Everything is destroyed. I can't work, and there is no power at the moment. I don’t know how long that will take.”
He said he has been asked for details by officials, but has yet to receive concrete support.
“Someone has to come and help us survive it because I've got a mortgage, I need to buy food for my family, and my rent is short,” he said. “There should be counsellors to come and help in emergencies.”
Thames Water said on Tuesday evening that it had isolated the damaged section of pipe, stabilised the network and restored water supply to the wider area.
However, by Wednesday morning, many locals were still without power or answers about how long they should expect disruptions to continue.
