Flood Warnings In Place As Storm Angus Submerges Parts Of UK

Some areas saw a month's rain in two days.
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Residents look at cars that have been submerged under several feet of flood water in Hartcliffe yesterday.
Matt Cardy via Getty Images

Torrential downpours caused flash-flooding and travel chaos across most of the country on Monday night as forecasters warned wind and rain will continue to blight parts of Britain.

In the wake of Storm Angus many areas across the UK, particularly the South West, Wales and North West, suffered under the fresh deluge of precipitation.

The extreme weather saw a ferry carrying passengers stranded at sea, roads and schools closed, homes flooded, cars submerged, people rescued and railway lines engulfed by the rising water.

This was the scene in Manchester.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said the heaviest and most persistent rain will move north-eastwards throughout Monday night, with overall weather improvements not expected until later in the week, reports the Press Association.

“Behind all the rain, across the rest of the UK, there is a lot of showers and some of these are heavy and thundery at times - these will gradually clear as we go through tomorrow.

“It will be a better day, but it is still going to be quite windy.”

Large swathes of the Devon countryside are under water.

Heading into Tuesday he said there are wind warnings for the North and North West, valid from 9pm until 6am, and a warning for the South Coast from Hampshire eastwards valid from 1am to 9am, currently in place.

Burkill said across the South Coast gusts of between 50-60mph could be seen with up to 70-80mph on the most exposed coastal parts, with 50-60mph expected in North East England with up 70mph on the highest grounds.

“Even though the worst of the rain is clearing northwards, we have still got some pretty strong winds to deal with which will likely cause some further problems,” he added.

Roads in Sheffield were submerged.

Burkill said it will “turn more settled” throughout the week.

More than 72 flood warnings were put in place across the South West, the Midlands, North East, North West, Wales and the East of England by the Environment Agency on Monday evening, with a further 215 flood alerts issued across England and Wales.

A Stena Europe ferry which failed to dock at Fishguard at 12.30pm after leaving Rosslare, Ireland at 9am on Monday is expected to attempt a second docking at midday, a Stena Line spokeswoman said.

The company said 87 passengers and 59 crew members remained on board the vessel overnight and stressed the health and safety of all on board is “paramount”.

Police in South Wales looking for 69-year-old Russell Sherwood who disappeared during Storm Angus will resume the search for the pensioner on Tuesday, after fading light and treacherous weather conditions halted efforts.