Major incident declared after flooding as rain and wind continues to batter UK

A major incident has been declared in Somerset after overnight flooding as rain and wind continue to batter parts of the UK.

Residents in the worst affected areas of Somerset have been evacuated from their homes, with more than 30 flood warnings in effect across England as the UK recovers from Storm Eowyn.

A series of weather warnings – including a fresh yellow rain alert issued on Monday morning – are in place to cover the potential impacts from the less powerful Storm Herminia, a low pressure system named by meteorologists in Spain, which is expected to feel the strongest winds.

Somerset Council and police jointly declared a major incident in the region.

A council spokesman said: “Following intense rainfall across the region at the weekend, several parts of Somerset were flooded on Sunday afternoon, including roads and some homes in the centre of Chard and Ilminster.

“With further heavy rainfall expected to fall in the early hours of Monday morning, a major incident was called and a decision was made to carry out precautionary evacuations for residents living in properties in the worst affected areas, as well as a caravan site thought to be at risk.

“Rest centres were set up in Chard, Ilminster and Somerton, and all the relevant agencies will continue to work to keep residents safe.”

Somerton Fire Station said 61 people were rescued from flooded properties, including from a mobile home site in Charlton Adam, and temporarily relocated to Edgar Community Hall.

Local MP Sarah Dyke appealed for available first aiders to make their way to the hall and for suppliers of portable beds and bedding to get in touch.

A yellow alert for rain was issued by the Met Office at 7.58am on Monday covering parts of southern England until 10am on Tuesday, warning of heavy rain, possible thunderstorms and flooding.

Another yellow warning for rain is in place until 9pm on Tuesday covering large swathes of Wales and parts of the West Midlands, with the Met Office predicting 0.8in to 1.6in (20mm to 40mm to fall quite widely and 2in to 2.8in (50mm to 70mm) on higher ground.

And a yellow wind alert is in force until 6am on Tuesday for southern England and parts of Wales, with gusts of 50mph to 70mph possible at times.

Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna warned of unsettled conditions across the country.

“We’ve got a pretty unsettled picture across the UK, with bands of showers moving in from the south west, moving north and east across pretty much all parts as we go through the day,” he said.

“(There) could be a bit of a wintry mix at times across the hills of Scotland and wherever you are those showers will be accompanied by pretty blustery conditions, with gales particularly down towards the South and South West of the UK, with parts of Wales perhaps seeing some of the heaviest bursts of rain.”

Mr Petagna said temperatures are close to the seasonal average, ranging from 6C to 10C, adding: “But if we add on the effect of those showers and those brisk winds, it’s certainly going to feel much colder out and about.”

Scotland is recovering from the effects of Storm Eowyn, which brought winds of 100mph to Drumalbin in the eleventh highest maximum gust since the Met Office started naming storms in 2015.

ScotRail’s service delivery director Mark Ilderton said Network Rail have responded to more than 500 separate incidents across the entire rail network, including removing over 120 trees that fell onto the railway.

“I’m really pleased that as of this morning the majority of our routes have now reopened,” he said in an update on Monday morning.

“There are still a number of other lines of route that require further repairs.”

Avanti West Coast said services to and from Glasgow and Edinburgh had resumed, but warned of late starts and possible delays on Scottish routes.

Around 65,000 customers remained without electricity across Northern Ireland on Monday morning, according to Northern Ireland Electricity Networks, while Northern Powergrid reported around 2,400 customers remaining without power.

Steve McDonald, director of field operations for Northern Powergrid, said: “We know how hard it is to be without power, and I’m sorry that some of our customers have had to manage for three nights without it. We will not stop until everyone is back on.

“Our welfare teams will still be out in the communities most affected today and we’ll ensure there are hot food vans and additional support for those who need it most.”

The company also announced those without power in Durham and Northumberland can use council leisure centres to freshen up or have a hot drink.