Terrified residents have told how “it felt like a bomb had gone off” when lights and plugs exploded, smoke-filled rooms, and a hole was blown in a roof after lightning crashed into houses during a brutal thunderstorm. Fire services raced to the scene of the scary incident on Thornton Road in Rusholme, Manchester, just after 4pm on Sunday when a bolt of lightning suddenly hit the roof of two terraced homes. Tiles were also ripped off walls while fuse boxes and light switches were left blackened and charred, with some falling roof tiles damaging a parked car outside.
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Several residents were evacuated from their homes, with three people receiving minor injuries. Francis Calrance was standing near an electrical switch in his house when the lightning and thunderstorm struck on Sunday afternoon.
The storm was so brutal that a huge hole was blown in the roof of his home and also his shed after tiles fell from a height and inflicted damage.
He told the Manchester Evening News (MEN): “I was inside and heard this huge loud bang. It was a huge blast and I was standing next to the electric switch that just blew up.
“There was a tube light in the attic that exploded and all the tiles broke off my roof and fell on my car. Downstairs, two light fittings fell off and one light landed on my son but he is okay.
“We have been advised to move somewhere else because we have no electricity and we are waiting for the insurance to look at it.
“There was smoke coming from the roof and there is a big hole in the attic. It was so loud I still can’t hear properly. It was a near miss so we do feel lucky.”
Francis’ neighbour Lena was working on her laptop at home when the fierce storm struck.
She has been advised to move out of her property for the “foreseeable future, with her bedroom walls left scorched.
Lena described the terrifying ordeal, telling the MEN: “It felt like a bomb had gone off and dropped on my house. It was an incredibly loud bang, my ears are still ringing from it.
“I just saw tiles flying off the walls and plug sockets exploding. At first, didn’t think it was lightning because the thunderstorm was over so quickly. I thought there had been a gas explosion or something.
“The whole room started smoking up so we quickly put the harness on the dog and got out and turned off as many switches as we could.
“The bedroom looks like an explosion, the emergency services said they had never seen anything like it. People further down the street say their wifi routers aren’t working now either.
“We are extremely lucky. If we had been physically in the room they said we may not have survived.”
The thunderstorm, which other residents said caused their houses to “shake”, saw torrential rain drown Manchester that also triggered flooding, with some people becoming trapped in their submerged cars under a railway bridge.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “At 4pm this afternoon during a thunderstorm two houses and several cars were damaged by a lightning strike that injured three people on Thornton Road, Manchester.
“Firefighters evacuated several houses and worked with North West Ambulance Service and Electricity North West to make the scene safe and help affected people.”
The terrifying incident comes with more weather chaos forecast for large parts of England and Wales today, with the Met Office issuing several yellow thunderstorm warnings.
The UK map has been dotted with yellow thunderstorm warnings that are in place for the East Midlands, East of England, London & South East England, North West England, South West England, Wales and the West Midlands.
These weather warnings, in place from noon until 9pm, warn of up to 30mm of rain being dumped on some areas of the country in an hour with the potential for 60-80 mm or more in a few hours where thunderstorms align for a time.
The Met Office has also warned in some affected areas, “frequent lightning and hail are likely to be additional hazards”.
It has warned flooding of homes and businesses “could happen quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds”, while spray and sudden flooding could make driving conditions difficult and lead to road closures.
Power cuts may also occur and “other service es” to homes and businesses could be lost, with the Met Office also warning there is a “danger to life” as “fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible”.
