Britain set for days of floods as Storm Babet wreaks trail of havoc
STORM BABET unleashed the sting in its tail last night, leaving much of Britain still facing days of devastating floods.
With hundreds of flood warnings in force the Environment Agency said it could be Tuesday before the risk subsides.
And while the Met Office is forecasting a ‘calmer and drier’ day today, more heavy rain is due from a weather system moving south to north across the entire country from tomorrow.
In areas of saturated ground the run-off is expected to hit alreadyswollen rivers.
The deluge from Babet has led to road and rail chaos across eastern and northern England. Train operators warned against travelling, with miles of track under water. But this failed to deter passengers yesterday, forcing Network Rail at one point to close London’s King’s Cross station to prevent overcrowding.
LNER said flooding between Doncaster and Wakefield left an ‘extremely limited service’ while services north of Edinburgh were abandoned, affecting parts of Aberdeenshire and Angus. Departures from northern cities including Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and Newcastle were also badly hit.
High winds also caused a series of power cuts. The Energy Networks Association said around 100,000 customers had been affected but 96 per cent have been reconnected.
Near Knutsford, Cheshire, England footballer Trent AlexanderArnold was involved in a minor car crash after a pylon was blown over in strong winds. The Liverpool defender’s Range Rover collided with a car after the 40ft pylon fell into a country lane.
Cheshire Police said no one was injured in the incident and Alexander-Arnold played his part in the Merseyside derby yesterday, helping secure a 2-0 win.
More than 300 flood warnings have been issued since Thursday with Yorkshire and the Midlands worst hit. Some 250 remained in force last night. In Wales, householders in isolated properties around the rivers Severn and Vyrnwy, along with the village of Llandrinio, were facing a severe flood warning last night.
Three have died in the storm since it struck on Wednesday, while unconfirmed reports have linked three further deaths to Storm Babet. Two women died in a pile-up on the M4 on Friday and a 19-yearold died after his car hit a wall near Halifax, in what was described as ‘horrendous weather’.
Meanwhile, a search for a man trapped in his car in floodwater continued in Aberdeenshire last night.