London submerged: What it means when floods reach the capital

Britain has been plagued by floods for decades, with affected areas feeling overlooked. Will flooded hospitals and Tube stations break the cycle of neglect?

By Anoosh Chakelian

Cars drive through deep water on a flooded road in The Nine Elms district of London on July 25, 2021. (Photo By JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

During the last weekend of July, a news story usually associated with further-flung parts of Britain ended up on my doorstep in Tower Hamlets, east London. Water cascaded through two of my upstairs neighbours’ flats from the roof of our block.

It had been raining heavily all afternoon, the downstairs gardens of the ground floor flats becoming paving-slabbed swimming pools and the road alongside them grey-water rapids.