Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes in Scotland and northern Britain and one police officer is missing following severe flooding after torrential rain, the Environment Agency said Friday, according to dpa. In the worst-hit regions of Cumbria in north-east Britain and in parts of Scotland, main roads were blocked, schools were closed and people fled from their homes, the agency said. Rescue teams in Cumbria said a search was launched for a police officer who went missing after a bridge collapsed during heavy flooding in the town of Workington. Several hundred people had been given shelter in emergency accommodation during the night as others were trapped by rising flood waters. Some smashed through the roofs of their houses to escape. More rainfall was forecast for Friday in Cumbria and the northern Lake District popular with tourists as 30 flood warnings remained in place.
