Storm Babet: Three confirmed dead as UK hit by severe floods, train chaos and power outages
Heavy winds and rain from Storm Babet sparked chaos across the UK as a plane skidded off the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport and people in Suffolk were told not to travel unless “absolutely necessary”. A new 24-hour red “danger to life” weather warning across parts of Scotland has been put in place by the Met Office, running throughout Saturday, while further weather warnings[1] are currently active across the majority of the UK. Three people have died as a result of the storm, two in Scotland and one in England.
A man in his 60s died after being caught in fast-flowing flood water in the town of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire on Friday, West Mercia Police said. It came after a 57-year-old woman[2] was fatally swept into a swollen river at the Water of Lee in Glen Esk, Angus, on Thursday. A 56-year-old man was also killed after a tree struck his van near Forfar at just after 5pm on Thursday.
Emergency services were called to Leeds Bradford airport after TUI flight TOM3551, arriving from Corfu, came off the runway whilst landing on Friday afternoon. The airport said it was working to “remove passengers from the aircraft safely”, while West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said there were “no reported injuries or fires”, adding it was assisting with the evacuation of passengers. Suffolk County Council urged residents not to travel unless “absolutely necessary” in an update on its website, declaring a major incident as result of severe flooding.
Jon Lacey, the Suffolk County’s chief fire officer, said: “The continuous heavy rainfall across Suffolk is causing severe flooding in several locations but is also making driving conditions more dangerous for everyone. “We are therefore asking people to travel only where it is absolutely essential – for example collecting a child from school, accessing medical treatment or returning home from work.” Almost 30,000 homes were left without power in Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perthshire on Thursday night and into Friday morning, with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) saying services have now been restored to all but a few thousand homes.
Meanwhile, hundreds of homes in the hardest hit regions of Scotland have been ordered to evacuate due to risks of severe flooding, however some residents decided to defy the advice and stay put. Angus Council – responsible for a large area in the east of Scotland, north of Dundee – said at least 350 homes across its constituency were contacted and advised to evacuate on Thursday, but that people in more than 60 homes in and around Brechin had since required rescue after refusing previous evacuation attempts. Councillor Lloyd Melville said: “It will be hard for some people to leave their homes but they absolutely need to do so if asked.”
Brechin[3] and some other parts of Angus, are now only accessible via boat due to flood waters and conditions are expected to deteriorate over the weekend, the council added. One village, Edzell, is completely cut off by floodwater, with the only emergency medical access via air ambulance. Warning that river levels in Brechin could reach five metres higher than normal, having already swelled to unprecedented levels and breached the town’s flood defences early on Friday morning, the council also said schools would remain shut on Friday to “ensure the safety of children, young people, parents, and school staff”.
New weather warnings as flooding sweeps the UK
The new red weather warning for rain in eastern Scotland[4] will be in place until 11.59pm on Saturday, with residents warned of danger to life from fast flowing or deep floodwater and collapsed or damaged buildings.
Many roads are also expected to be closed with train and bus services also disrupted. It is accompanied by new amber warnings[5] extending through large parts of Scotland as well as parts of northern England and the Midlands. Yellow warnings are also in place across most of Wales, Northern Ireland and the majority of England, excluding southern areas.
As a result, widespread delays and cancellations to transport services[6] in Scotland, parts of the north, east and west of England, the Midlands and north Wales are set to continue on Friday and potentially into the weekend. A statement from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said power had been restored to more than 24,000 customers as of 11.30am, but that work was ongoing to reconnect around 4,000 more properties that were “currently off supply”. Brechin and Edzell councillor, Jill Scott, called the situation “horrific”, adding that people were trapped in closes and upstairs floors of buildings.
“The boats are trying to get to them. They can’t get to them because the current is too strong,” she said. “There will be hundreds of houses flooded.”
Ms Scott said one family contacted her around 5am on Thursday after having to leave their flooded ground floor flat, leaving them trapped in an upstairs hallway and currently unable to be rescued due to the force of the floodwater “It unbelievable. It’s devastating.
I don’t know what the council’s going to do to be honest – how many people they are going to have to rehome,” she added. “People will have lost everything.”
A car stuck in floodwater under a railway bridge at Upwell Street, Sheffield (Photo: Dave Higgens/PA)
The UK Environment Agency said homes could be flooded in 45 areas of England and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency also warned there is a “danger to life” due to widespread flooding in five areas of Scotland, with flooding expected in a further 16 areas. Four flood warnings were issued on Friday by the Environment Agency’s Floodline service in Sandsend, North Yorkshire; Bridlington, East Yorkshire; the Tyne estuary and in areas surrounding the River Maun in Nottinghamshire.
The agency also has 79 flood alerts in effect across the rest of England, while severe flood warnings[7] were expanded for the River Esk in Scotland, including into Aberdeenshire. According to the Met Office, severe flooding could cut off some communities for several days, while the British Geological Survey has warned the storm could cause landslides in Scotland. West Midlands Fire Service (WMAS) has urged people not to drive through flood water after a car was pushed 30 metres down a fast-flowing river in Northfield, Birmingham.
The driver, a man believed to be in his early 40s, had attempted to pass through a ford in The Mill Walk at around 8.30am on Friday, WMAS said. His vehicle was rapidly pushed downstream, before getting stuck, forcing the man to climb to safety on the roof of his vehicle, before using a tree branch to make his way to the embankment. From there, he was led to safety by fire crews an hour after the initial 999 calls.
WMAS said he had a “lucky escape”, adding: “We repeat: Do not drive into flood water. It puts you, and our firefighters who respond, in very real danger.”
Members of the emergency services talk to a resident in Brechin, Scotland. (Photo: Andrew Milligan / PA)
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Gusts in excess of 60mph are likely on Friday, with particularly poor conditions on immediate coastlines where large waves add to the list of hazards. Paddleboarding instructor David Jacobs, 56, said he had seen waves around 20ft high in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, and expects it to be worse on Friday.
He added that he was concerned for passers-by who stopped to watch the waves, as they could be hit by debris or swept into the sea. Mr Jacobs said: “The wind is swinging east tomorrow so it will be coming directly into the harbour. “The last time I have seen weather like this was 2014, it is quite spectacular to watch but bits of trees and rocks land onto the road.
It worries me for other people.” Confirming reports of the second victim of Storm Babet, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 5.05pm on Thursday, 19 October, 2023, police received a report of a one-vehicle crash in which a tree struck a van on the B9127 at Whigstreet near Forfar. “Emergency services attended, however, the 56-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Next of kin have been informed and a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal. “The road remains closed.” Andrew Batchelor, who runs Dundee Culture – a platform which showcases the achievements, culture and heritage of Dundee – told the PA news agency his car was hit by a branch on his way home from Edinburgh Airport.
“We just arrived home from Ibiza and the flight was delayed due to operational problems and of course the weather,” said the 23-year-old Dundee resident. “When we were heading towards Perth, a branch struck our car – fortunately nothing was damaged but you could hear the wind and rain banging on the car as we headed home.”
A fallen tree in Brechin. The UK is bracing for heavy wind and rain from Storm Babet, the second named storm of the season (Photo: Andrew Milligan / PA)
Storm Babet hit Ireland on Wednesday after sweeping in from the Atlantic, bringing with it heavy rainfall and causing extensive flooding in parts of the country. Members of the Irish Defence Forces were deployed in the town of Midleton, Co Cork, in the south of Ireland, where more than 100 properties were flooded.
Ireland’s Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath, has said a proposal is being worked on to increase the level of support, via the Red Cross administered Emergency Humanitarian Aid Scheme, that will be offered to those affected by flooding in Co Cork “from next week”. This currently offers an initial 5,000 euro and further support up to 20,000 euro based on the scale of damage. Cork County Council said more than a month’s worth of rain had fallen in the space of 24 hours, leading to unprecedented flooding, saturated land and high river levels across the county.
How is Storm Babet affecting travel?
ScotRail said train services[8] remain suspended on several routes in north and north-east Scotland and could stay that way until Sunday, while Traffic Scotland[9] has said several sections of major Scottish roads were closed due to Storm Babet.
National Rail Enquiries said several railway[10] routes in north-west England and north Wales were closed due to flooding, with varying degrees of disruption to services due to severe weather in north-east England, Yorkshire and the Midlands also reported. All lines running through Swindon have been blocked by flooding, with trains also halted between Derby and Sheffield or Nottingham. Diversion routes have been created after the A15 Humber Bridge between North Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire was closed in both directions to “high-sided and vulnerable vehicles” due to strong winds.
National Highways said that flooding has also forced the closure of the A46 in Leicestershire in both directions between the A606 (near Widmerpool) and A6006 (near Sixhills), as well as the A52 in Derbyshire eastbound from the B6003 (near Bardhills) to the A6007 (near Bramcote).
Flooded residents may not be able to return until after Christmas
Rescue operations are underway in Brechin, Angus, after flood defences were breached in the early hours of the morning, leading to hundreds of homes being surrounded by water. Gavin Nicol, the Conservative representative for the Brechin and Edzell Ward on Angus Council, said high tide at about 5pm on Friday could pose a particular problem. “My thoughts go out to those affected,” Mr Nicol said. “With this time of year, it’s coming up to Christmas, and some people might not even get back in their homes by then.”
With flood levels “still rising”, he added: “These houses will not be habitable in the near future.
It’s not just water – there’s sewage as well.”
The local council has appealed for donations of warm clothes after dozens of people turned up to rest centres while “soaked”.
References
- ^ further weather warnings (twitter.com)
- ^ 57-year-old woman (inews.co.uk)
- ^ Brechin (inews.co.uk)
- ^ The new red weather warning for rain in eastern Scotland (twitter.com)
- ^ new amber warnings (twitter.com)
- ^ to transport services (inews.co.uk)
- ^ severe flood warnings (twitter.com)
- ^ train services (www.travelinescotland.com)
- ^ Traffic Scotland (www.traffic.gov.scot)
- ^ railway (www.thetrainline.com)