Couple caught in ‘monsoon level’ rain when they died in Mossley Hill
An inquest into the deaths of Elaine and Philip Marco in August 2023 is continuing
An inquest has heard rainfall levels on the night a couple died when their car became trapped in flood water in the Mossley Hill area of Liverpool were likened to “monsoon” levels.
The third day of the inquest into the deaths of Elaine and Philip Marco was told how around 80mm of rain fell around Queens Drive in an hour on August 26, 2023.
The Mercedes car belonging to the beloved grandparents, who were well-known in south Liverpool and in the city’s Jewish community, became “hydrolocked” after water got into the engine. A statement from Andy Bithell, Liverpool Council head of highways management, detailed how Environment Agency data recorded intense rainfall between 8pm and 9pm.
Emergency service calls were made in relation to the Marcos’ car at around 9.15pm after they had dropped off their son at home following a family get together. Asked by their counsel, Andrew Metzer KC, Mr Bithell described the water fall as “monsoon level rain.”
Mr Bithell became Liverpool Council head of highways management in January 2024. On the night the Marcos died, a yellow weather warning for rain was issued by the Met Office but the officer said this does not always result in a road closure.
The environment agency radar also indicated more than 80mm of rain per hour between 8pm and 9pm on August 26, describing it as “approaching monsoon intensity.” Prior to this, four incidents of flooding occurred on Queens Drive between May and July when vehicles became stranded and people were rescued.
One occasion in June was described as a one in 412 year event. The highways manager rejected Mr Metzer’s questioning regarding a potential risk to life given two previous weather warnings in June and July of that year.
He said the local authority’s service is reactive in nature and it would not be feasible to close roads based on Met Office warnings. Mr Bithell said the council did not consider there was a risk to life based on the information available at the time of the August 2023 collision.
He accepted the city council’s response prior to August was reactive rather than proactive or focused on hazard prevention and signage would have been helpful to road users as well as reducing risk. Asked by Mr Metzer: “It took fatalities before the council would do anything?”
Mr Bithell replied: “Regretfully, yes.” He accepted the local authority had clear knowledge of events past and public safety was at risk during previous floods.
During the four previous incidents of flooding in 2023, the city council was made aware by a report in the Liverpool ECHO of the first event in May. On August 15, a meeting was held with United Utilities and the Merseyside Flood Risk Coordinator in which the water company said it had undertaken £15,000 worth of sewer cleaning around the area following a series of incidents to take out compacted silt.
A statement by Laura Gilmore, Liverpool Council principal engineer for drainage, said United Utilities did not indicate any further issues with the sewers. The inquest was also told of how Mr Marco also attempted to gain help through his car’s SOS system.
A call was logged with the provider at 21.32 requesting fire and rescue services as the vehicle was flooded and he and Mrs Marco could not get out. The call log showed how voice connection was lost with Mr Marco despite multiple attempts to regain them.
The inquest continues.