Three dead as Scotland hit by severe flooding after Storm Babet
World
The local authority of Angus asked people to evacuate from more than 400 homes and closed schools
LONDON (Reuters) – Parts of eastern Scotland experienced severe flooding on Friday after Storm Babet brought heavy rainfall and winds of more than 70 mph (113 km/h) which overwhelmed defences and left thousands of homes without power.
Britain's national weather forecaster, the Met Office, issued its first red warning for rain since February 2020, predicting some locations would see as much as 250 millimetres (9.84 inches). On Friday it extended the warning until 2259 GMT on Saturday.
Three people have died since Thursday, when Storm Babet first took hold.
A woman died after being swept into a river, and a man was killed when a falling tree hit a van. Police Scotland said a search was under way after reports of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.
"This is an exceptional event, and we are likely to continue to see significant impacts with the potential for further flooding," Met Office Chief Meteorologist Andy Page said.
The Met Office said heavy rainfall was expected to continue to cause extensive flooding, road closures, loss of power and other essential services, and warned communities could be completely cut off for several days.
The local authority of Angus asked people to evacuate from more than 400 homes on Thursday and schools were closed. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said it was working to restore power to thousands of homes.
"Angus is in the middle of a very serious emergency. Flooding is unprecedented," Angus Council said on social media.
"Conditions will continue to deteriorate for some time."
It said flood defences in the town of Brechin were breached at around 0300 GMT on Friday, with river levels around 4.4 metres (14 ft) above normal.
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Some areas were now only accessible via boat and rescue crews were working to get people to safety, it added.
The Met Office also has amber and yellow weather warnings in place for much of England.
A spokesperson for Leeds Bradford Airport in northern England said a TUI plane had left the runway whilst landing on Friday, with media reporting it had skidded in wet and windy conditions. Local emergency services said there were no reported injuries.
According to BBC, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has warned Saturday's rain will "prolong flooding impacts" and cause additional disruption.
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Flood warnings for England are in place at Derby City Water Treatment Works, Little Chester, Eastgate and Cattle Market, and Racecourse Park at Chaddesden.
The Environment Agency said flooding from major rivers could continue until Tuesday.
Disruption on the rail network led to the closure of London's King's Cross station on Saturday afternoon after National Rail said it was "too crowded to be safe for all passengers".
