Buiness owners say the whole street went into a ‘panic” when they heard the explosion
Dozens of business owners and employes witnessed an “explosion” as a burst water pipe caused water to surge down Kentish Town Road for almost two hours on Friday, August 28. The busy Camden neighbourhood high street flooded just after 10.15am, sending locals into a “panic” mode as around one foot of water streamed down the road.
Thames Water engineers remain on site on Saturday (August 29) after discovering a second burst pipe while fixing the first. While the flood water has been cleared, part of Kentish Town Road has been closed with diversions so the second pipe can be repaired.
Residents are businesses are being warned by Thames Water that it will “most likely take a couple of weeks” for the road to fully reopen. The flood started outside Pang’s London, a Chinese takeaway, and spread down the street, causing serious disruption for drivers and business owners alike.
Bhaviti Degamia, 47, owner of Wow Brows, said the street went into a state of “panic” after hearing an explosion-like noise and seeing the flood rush past their shops. She said: “We were just going about our day and then at about 10.20am our landlord came in and said there was a flood.
“I heard something that sounded like an explosion. When I walked out, I saw that the pavement had erupted and broken, with water gushing everywhere and debris from beneath covering the road.
“Some of the shops nearer to the explosion had water come into their shops. We all just stood there in complete bedazzlement; nobody could walk along the street. The street went into panic.
“We later learned from Thames Water that a 16 metre deep pipe had burst and the pavement had just exploded. Yesterday, for the entire morning from 10.20am until 2pm, we couldn’t get any trade, we couldn’t have any clients in, and we lost about £300.
“We had to close our front doors and board up our doors if the water started rising; luckily, we were at a gradient.”
While Bhaviti was lucky enough not to have her shop flooded, she said other business owners on the road had suffered damage from the large amounts of water gushing down it.
The manager of Payless Food & Wine London, a local newsagent near the burst water main, explained that although their shop wasn’t flooded, they had lost thousands of pounds in passing trade as a result of the incident.
The manager, Ahmed Khan, 31, said: “We got very very lucky that the water stopped right before our front door and went towards the road. It was scary.
“I wasn’t here, but the staff rang me and sent me videos, and yeah, I just hoped that the water stopped before it got to us, it would have flooded our basement with stock in as well, so we were very lucky. We lost trade because they closed off the road and the pathway, so obviously no customers.
“We are definitely seeing a difference. We can’t get deliveries either because of the Carnival weekend; we were expecting a lot of passing trade. We are looking at around £2,000-£3,000 losses this weekend in sales, that is for the entire weekend.”
In the latest update at 8.45am on Saturday, Thames Water said: “We’re still working on the second burst, which was found in the excavation already dug in Kentish Town Road.
“With the water having been diverted around the area, your water should now be flowing at your taps, you may notice the pressure is lower at first, but this will return to normal once we’ve fixed the broken pipe. Sorry if you were affected.
“Once we’ve completed the second repair, we’ll then focus on reinstating the road and opening it. Though we must advise, unfortunately, this will most likely take a couple of weeks to complete. We’ll share the anticipated completion date as soon as it’s known.
“To keep everyone safe, we’ve had to close some of Kentish Town Road. Please follow the diversions that are in place, and if you’re travelling in the area, allow extra time to your journey. Sorry for the ongoing disruption.”
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