Up to TWO inches of heavy rain set to hammer flood-hit parts of Britain today as Met Office yellow warning comes into force after Storm Babet sparked chaos across UK
Published: 06:36, 24 October 2023 | Updated: 06:50, 24 October 2023
Up to two inches of heavy rain is set to hammer flood-hit parts of Britain today as the country continues to grapple with the effects of deadly Storm Babet.
The Met Office[2]‘s yellow warning comes into force this afternoon, warning there is a chance more homes and businesses could be flooding, with deep, fast flowing flood water causing a danger to life.
It comes as nine people are believed to have died in the storm that swept across the UK last week, seeing people evacuated from towns and propped up in hotels as up to 1,250 properties in England were flooded.
A vast swathe of England has already been hit by flooding and the new onslaught of rain could lead to further floods in the East Midlands, including Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
Yorkshire, including Sheffield, Leeds and York, and Humberside, could also be affected, with 92 flood warnings in place for the whole of England.
LINCOLNSHIRE: Drone footage shows flooding on a far as more rain is set to hit the country today
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: Homes and gardens are flooded in Retford, as flood warnings remain in place
IRELAND: A car drives through flood waters in Faithlegg County, Waterford
SOUTH YORKSHIRE: Damaged cars covered in murky flood water in Rotherham
DUNDEE: A car sits in the remains of a collapsed bridge at Fowlis, near the Scottish city, after Storm Babet.
Locals said the occupant was rescued by a farmer
Rachel Ayers, Met Office meteorologist, said a few places, most likely Lincolnshire and Humberside, could see 30-50mm of rain while southern England and Wales could experience 10-20mm.
She said there will be ‘some respite’ across Scotland on Tuesday after its battering by the storm.
‘The weather we are seeing on Tuesday is no longer associated with Storm Babet,’ Ms Ayers said.
‘We will see some heavy rain in areas affected by flooding during Storm Babet though the worst impacted areas in Scotland will remain mostly dry on Tuesday.
‘Within the warning area we could see some travel disruption due to spray and flooding on roads.
‘There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life, or that some communities could be cut off due to flooded roads.’
Reports of floods to the Environment Agency reached the highest level since 2015/16 at the peak of the storm, environment minister Rebecca Pow told the Commons on Monday.
YORKSHIRE|: Cars have been wrecked by flooding in the village of Catcliffe, pictured yesterday
Today 92 flood warnings remain in place in England, with 106 flood alerts also in placce
A yellow flood warning remains in place today in Sheffield, Lincoln, Nottingham, Hull, Leeds and York
SHROPSHIRE: Markings show the height of previous floods on the door of the Boat Inn in Ironbridge
SHROPSHIRE: Damaged cars sit in a flooded car park in Rotherham
ANGUS: The flood damaged garden belonging to Kim Clark on River Street in Brechin yesterday
The body issued more than 300 flood warnings and received more than 1,800 calls to its flood line, she said.
A total of 13 areas broke their daily rainfall records for October last week, including sites in Suffolk, South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Wiltshire, Kincardineshire, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Northumberland, Derbyshire and Humberside, the Met Office said.
The death toll rose on Monday as police recovered the body of a man after reports that a person was trapped in a vehicle in floodwater near Marykirk, Aberdeenshire, on Friday.
Police Scotland said that formal identification is still to take place, however next of kin have been informed.
On Saturday, 83-year-old Maureen Gilbert was found dead in her flooded home in Tapton Terrace, Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
Mrs Gilbert’s neighbours said five feet of water had engulfed the inside of their properties ‘within minutes’ of the River Rother bursting its banks.
Her heartbroken son Paul Gilbert had desperately tried all he could to protect her house on Friday morning spending hours putting up flood defences and believing the near 4ft-high flood barrier would be enough to stop the waters.
John Gillan, 56, a painter and decorator from Arbroath in Angus, was killed when a tree struck his van on the B9127 at Whigstreet near Forfar last Thursday during Storm Babet
Maureen Gilbert with her husband Jack on their wedding day in 1975; Mrs Gilbert has died in Storm Babet after floodwaters burst into her home
Flowers were left outside Mrs Gilbert’s home on Sunday after her son and grandson found her body at home in Chesterfield on Saturday
Firefighters promised Paul they would try and rescue his mother on Saturday morning but after waiting for a call that never came, the son went to his mother’s home at 9.30am and forced the window open where he discovered Maureen dead floating in the water.
‘I honestly can’t put it into words at the moment,’ he told Sky News. ‘There’s a bit of anger because nothing ever seems to get done.
‘For me to have to come and find her myself was more the upsetting thing for me. I didn’t want to find my own mum and I expected somebody else to have found her.’
He added: ‘It ain’t hit in yet. I don’t think it has.
I go through so many different stages…anger, upset. I don’t know I can’t put it into words what it means at the moment.’
Wendy Taylor, 57, died after being swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk, on Thursday.
Mrs Taylor, who was described as ‘the beloved wife, best friend and soulmate in life to George, mother to James, Sally and Susanna and Granny to India and George’, was said to be ‘a ray of sunshine for everyone who was fortunate enough to know her’ in a tribute issued through Police Scotland.
57-year-old Wendy Taylor was swept into the Water of Lee, in Glenesk, north of Brechin, Angus, at around 1.45pm on Thursday
DUNDEE: A car sits in the remains of a collapsed bridge at Fowlis, near the Scottish city, after Storm Babet. Locals said the occupant was rescued by a farmer
SHROPSHIRE: The River Severn was flooded as the Environment Agency has warned that flooding from major rivers could continue
Two women died after a five-vehicle crash on the M4 on Friday which is believed to have been weather-related.
Four cars and an HGV were involved in the crash on the eastbound carriageway between junction 17 for Chippenham and junction 18 for Bath.
John Gillan, 56, a painter and decorator from Arbroath in Angus, was killed when a tree struck his van on the B9127 at Whigstreet near Forfar last Thursday. He is one of at least nine people killed by the storm, which brought heavy rain and strong winds.
In a statement released through the force, his family said: ‘We are devastated by the loss of John and the circumstances in which he died.
John was a loving husband to Gaynor, dad to Marc, father-in-law to Natasha, and grandad to Reygan and Finley.
‘He was also a loving son to John and Moira, brother to Wendy and a loving uncle, son-in-law and brother-in-law.
John will be deeply missed by us all.
‘Thank you to family and friends for supporting us through this indescribably difficult time.
We’d like to request that our privacy be respected whilst we grieve for John.’
A man in his 60s also died after getting caught in fast-flowing floodwater in the town of Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, on Friday.
References
- ^ Eirian Jane Prosser (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Met Office (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Met Office (www.dailymail.co.uk)