Three killed in Storm Babet as major incidents declared and villages cut off by floods
Rail services disrupted, thousands of homes suffer power cuts and hundreds of warnings issued
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Your support makes all the difference.The death toll of Storm Babet has risen to three as heavy winds and rain causes travel chaos and communities to be cut off.
At least two villages were isolated and hundreds of homes in eastern Scotland were evacuated after being flooded during the Met Office’s rare red warning for rain.
Suffolk and Derbyshire county councils both declared major incidents, and a man in his 60s died in fast-flowing floodwater in Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire.
It was the storm’s first death in England after a van driver was killed by a falling tree near Forfar, Scotland, on Friday morning, and a woman was swept away in a river in Angus on Thursday afternoon.
Across the UK, roads were closed as floodwaters made driving dangerous, while train services were left in disarray.
An estimated 55,000 homes in England suffered power cuts, a day after around 20,000 in Scotland did.
The Met Office issued a second red warning, meaning there is a risk to life, for central and eastern Scotland including Angus and Aberdeenshire for all day on Saturday.
A passenger plane at Leeds Bradford Airport had to be evacuated after it skidded off the runway as it tried to land in high winds. Operator Tui said no one was injured, although the airport was briefly closed.
One passenger, Malcolm Fell, said the skid had been “a little bit dramatic” but everyone onboard was “quite calm”.
“'My wife, [who] was sat next to me, turned to me and said I think you better brace yourself because this is not going to stop. And then all of a sudden...we were at a standstill on the grass,” he told MailOnline.
In the village of Debenham in Suffolk, which was cut off by floodwaters, dozens of people forced to leave their homes took shelter in the local leisure centre.
Ness Rodgers, events coordinator of the leisure centre, said: “We have about 50 people here but we are expecting more.
“Tractors are picking people up who are stuck on the edge of the village.
“We’ve laid out crash mats. We’re trying to make people as comfortable and as calm as possible. We have one girl who’s hysterical because she just wants to go home.”
The village of Edzell, near Brechin in eastern Scotland, was also cut off by flooding and accessible only by boat, while people in 60 homes there who had refused to budge when the rest of the town was evacuated were finally rescued.
The local council appealed for donations of warm clothes after 40 people turned up to rest centres while “soaked”.
Jacqui Semple, of Angus Council, said: “People are devastated. This is awful.
“It would be awful. Your house flooded, your belongings, the impact emotionally and physically and everything that goes with that.
“They’ve got all of those people who have been affected arriving at our rest centres in such a state – wet, cold, and just so unbelievably upset.”
Giant waves ripped the top off a lighthouse at South Shields and the public were urged to keep away from the area, particularly the piers.
Across England, there were more than 200 flood warnings and 200 alerts on Friday evening.
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said most roads in the county were affected by flooding and many were closed.
Flooding caused 70-minute delays on the A1 near Grantham in Lincolnshire, National Highways said.
In Suffolk, where there was “major flooding”, the county council urged residents not to travel unless absolutely necessary.
Jon Lacey, chief fire officer for the county, said: “The continuous heavy rainfall across Suffolk is causing severe flooding in several locations but is also making driving conditions more dangerous for everyone.”
The Energy Networks Association said Storm Babet left 55,000 customers without power in England on Friday but that around 45,000 were later reconnected.
Large parts of the UK rail network were off-limits as severe flooding blocked lines, and operators warned disruption may continue until Sunday.
The flagship East Coast main line, linking London, Yorkshire, northeast England and southern Scotland, was at a near-standstill.
ScotRail closed seven routes in eastern Scotland, and other routes had precautionary speed restrictions imposed.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency had issued a red weather warning for flooding across Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross and Aberdeenshire, and the Met Office said more than a month’s rainfall soaked parts of Scotland in just 36 hours.
The agency warned those in severe flood warning areas not to travel, take photos next to coastal areas or flooding, or walk or drive through flood water.
Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf paid tribute to the two people who died there, saying: “My deepest condolences go out to the families of those who have lost loved ones. Unfortunately, we have not seen the last of this storm.
“Around half the average monthly rainfall for October is expected to fall through tonight and tomorrow in areas already severely affected by exceptional levels of rainfall.”
The Met Office said the exceptionally wet and unsettled weather would continue in the coming days.
Chief meteorologist Andy Page said: “This is not usual autumn weather. This is an exceptional event, and we are likely to continue to see significant impacts with the potential for further flooding and damage to properties.
“There are numerous national severe weather warnings in place for both rain and wind over the coming days.”
Parts of Angus and Aberdeenshire, already hit hardest by floods, could have up to 100 mm rain on Saturday, he said.
More rain is also expected across Wales, northern England and the Midlands.
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