Rain driven by gale-force winds brought heavy flooding Tuesday to southwestern England, leaving the center of this catherdral city of 14,000 people awash in 4 feet of water, police said. The downpour that began Monday night dumped more than 2 inches of rain in two hours on the Cornwall peninsula, said a spokesman for the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary who requested anonymity. Hardest hit was Truro, the administrative center of Cornwall, about 300 miles west of London. Shopkeepers were evacuated from the low-lying areas downtown as emergency workers sandbagged the perimeter of the area to prevent the rising water from spilling into residential neighborhoods, the spokesman said. Other flooded areas included the nearby villages of Carnon Downs, Feock, Devoran and St. Just-in-Roseland. Roads to the seaside resort of St. Agnes were cut off by floodwaters aggravated by rising tides, the spokesman said. Main roads into the Truro area lay under 6 feet of water in some places, the spokesman said, while the River Kenwyn near Truro appeared in danger of spilling its banks. About 50 families across the barren, rugged Cornish peninsula had been evacuated, the spokesman said. A spokesman for the London Weather Center said an Atlantic weather depression spawned the rains and accompanying 35-45 mph winds gusting up to 65 mph. The high winds stranded 400 people bound for Cork, Ireland, at the dock in Swansea, Wales, for 10 hours as the ferry Celtic Pride was forced to ride out the storm at anchor in Swansea Bay, the domestic news agency Press Association reported.
