Storm Bert: More flooding likely as further rainfall expected

More than 120 flood warnings are still in place across England, Wales and Scotland as the after-effects of Storm Bert are still being felt, with further rain expected to fall today on sodden ground.

A severe “danger to life” warning remains in place for the River Nene in Northamptonshire after a caravan park was submerged for the third time this year.

Residents at Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park, where a major incident has been declared, slept at an evacuation centre overnight on Monday.

Heavy rainfall and strong winds brought by Storm Bert over the weekend led to at least five deaths, while homes, roads and rail networks faced major disruption.

While the storm will continue to pull away towards Scandinavia on Tuesday, showers are expected in south-east, south-west and north-west England, as well as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the impact of flooding “should be less severe”.

He told the Commons on Monday: “Further flooding is sadly likely over the next few days as water levels rise in slower flowing rivers such as the Severn and the Ouse.”

There are 116 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, in England, particularly concentrated in Northamptonshire, Worcestershire and around south-west England. Wales has six warnings in place while there is one in Scotland.

In Northamptonshire, volunteers from humanitarian charity React helped those evacuated from Billing Aquadrome by offering toothpaste and socks, while another charity cooked hot meals in the car park.

West Northamptonshire Council said it had helped 114 people, including 30 families with children.

Sam Craddock, who has lived in a lodge at the site for 15 years, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The sirens went off. We didn’t expect it to be this bad.

“It’s probably the third or fourth time we’ve been evacuated this year due to the flooding.

“[It’s] really bad out there.”

One man said a warning went off at about 03:45 GMT on Monday and “everyone had to get off the site”.

“It’s just not good, it’s not good at all,” he said.

Showers continued through the night on Monday and on Tuesday in parts of south-west England, the north coast of Northern Ireland, north-west England and the coastal counties of Scotland.

Some of these showers are heavy with thunder over the hills.

But through Tuesday evening and overnight another area of low pressure will sweep in from the Atlantic, bringing a spell of wet and potentially windy weather to England and Wales.

On its current track, the low pressure will bring rain north-eastwards across south-west England this evening and then Wales, the Midlands, East Anglia, parts of northern England and south-east England, where it could turn heavy and thundery.

To the north of the rain, across Northern Ireland and Scotland it will be cold with a frost and patchy fog.

There is a chance the rain might turn to snow across north Wales and the Peak District – as it bumps into the colder air – and then as it clears eastern England it might have a sting in its tail, bringing a bout of strong winds.

As much as 25mm more rain is forecast on already saturated ground and although there are currently no weather warnings in place, that will be being considered by the Met Office on Tuesday morning.

The Met Office has faced criticism with some saying there were insufficient warnings ahead of the storm making landfall.

Its services director Simon Brown said on Monday that “observed rainfall totals were broadly in line with the forecast and the severe weather warnings issued in advance”.

However, he said he was committed to “learning the lessons… to support even greater preparedness”.

In Chippenham, Wiltshire, a clean-up operation is taking place and shop owners are assessing the damage.

Becky Lyons, who runs Pawesome Pet Shop, said she faced “carnage” after the floods hit her store and some of her Christmas stock has been ruined.

“It’s heartbreaking initially and then you think you’ve just got to get on with it,” she told BBC Breakfast.

“We’re hoping to open again today.”

She said there was a “great community” and customers had offered to help with the clean up.

National Rail said on Tuesday that “various routes” in south-west England and Wales would continue to be impacted following disruption caused by Storm Bert.

It said it needed to remove debris from the line between Swindon and Bristol Parkway, which had been impacted by flooding.

Meanwhile, platform closures at Newbury due to “ongoing damage” caused by the storm meant Great Western Railway were reducing the number of trains running through the station on Tuesday, Network Rail said.

Five men died over the weekend as a result of the adverse weather.

North Wales Police confirmed a body was found after Brian Perry, a 75-year-old dogwalker, went missing near the River Conwy in Trefriw on Sunday.

Mohammed Wahid, a 34-year-old man whose car hit a wall in the snow in Shipley, West Yorkshire, died on Saturday.

Three other men died in road accidents on Saturday. A man died when his car was hit by a tree on the A34 at Winnall, Hampshire, and another man crashed on the A45 near Flore, Northamptonshire, during rush hour.

A third man, in his 80s, died after driving into a ford in Colne, Lancashire.