Thousands of East London residents remain without water following a “major” pipe burst that cut off supply to one of the UK’s most populated areas, and sent residents to raid supermarkets.
The outage, caused by a 42-inch pipe burst at Hackney Marshes, left thousands without any water across the densely populated East London area throughout Tuesday night. Utilities company Thames Water said it had been working through the night to restore supply. Water returned to a number of affected areas on Wednesday morning, but many households remain without it or with limited pressure.
Videos emerged on Tuesday night of Londoners panic-buying water at a local supermarket.
the absolute scenes in east london rn (leytonstone tesco) as people stockpile water pic.twitter.com/KsWMAQVCTd
In the video shoppers at a packed Tesco outlet in the east-end neighborhood of Leytonstone can be seen filling their arms and trolleys with bottled water products as shelves emptied.
As water supply challenges continued on Wednesday morning, many took to Twitter to share their frustration. One person commented “Welcome to the Ghetto”
initially laughed at the no water in east London situation bc ours was workingWELL KASIA, WELCOME TO THE GHETTO pic.twitter.com/eIHtsYkVbn
Meanwhile, the British reputation for making light of a situation was upheld by Londoners as stories emerged of people selling tap water online.
Water for sale, ? east London ? pic.twitter.com/ftFfp0NH1T
Thames Water expects supply to resume fully around midday, allowing residents to wash hands, flush toilets and access drinking water from the tap.
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