UK weather: flooding and spring snow Police are using a sniffer dog to search for the woman missing after her house in Looe, Cornwall partially collapsed during heavy rainfall. Thermal imaging cameras used to identify signs of life proved inconclusive. Neighbours said they heard "windows popping" at the three-storey property under the pressure of a torrent of surface water that had been washed down the road behind the building, which is split into three flats and named Veronica. Graham Claybourn of Devon and Cornwall police said Susan Norman lived in the ground-floor flat, and had returned from a trip yesterday evening: The woman was away but returned last night at about 6pm. There are no other suggestions where she might be - she might be in there [the property] ... She was last heard from yesterday evening. If we think she's in there our duty will be to make the premises secure and safe. The fire service said it was too dangerous to enter. We cannot put anybody at risk - at the moment it is too dangerous for anyone else to go in. He added: "Our priority is to find the lady. If we cannot account for her, she will turn into a missing person. The property is one of a number of detached homes along the road, overlooking a sheer drop to the picturesque Looe Valley branch line. Sandplace Road, which runs along the entrance to the properties, has been closed to traffic for months after a landslide nearby just before Christmas. The road running along the back of the homes, a main road into Looe, was said to have been carrying excess surface water caused by a combination of heavy rainfall and uncleared drains, the Press Association reported. This map shows where Sandplace Road is. Pete Temlett, a retired police officer, said he was woken in the night by the young man who lives in the top-floor flat: He was obviously in a state of shock and said his house had collapsed and he had to escape. I immediately got dressed and went down to the house with him, but I could see it could collapse at any moment. The windows were popping out and you could see the house was moving. My immediate thought was for the safety of the woman who lives in the bottom flat, but I couldn't go in there. I thought if I open a door it could collapse and cause her more injury. The collapsed Veronica flats on Sandplace Road, Looe, Cornwall.