Fresh danger to life warnings issued as post-Babet flooding continues
More “risk-to-life” flood warnings have been issued in England in the wake of Storm Babet as homes have been evacuated and train services disrupted.
Two severe flood warnings are in place around the River Idle, near Retford in Nottinghamshire, meaning risk of death or serious injury, as water levels continue to rise.
It comes as police said the death of a woman in her 80s at a flat in Derbyshire was believed to be flood-related, taking the number of people who have died since the storm hit the UK to at least four.
The River Idle is expected to reach record levels as flooding continues, the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Resilience Forum (LRF) said, with residents in Retford urged to evacuate.
Emergency services are supporting residents to evacuate where needed and a rest centre has been set up at Retford Leisure Centre.
The Environment Agency has warned that major rivers could still be flooded until Tuesday and train services are disrupted across parts of Scotland, Yorkshire and East Anglia, with some routes still flooded.
Derby City Council said it is seeing record-breaking water levels in the River Derwent and warned that cleaning up after the floods could take several days.
Three severe flood warnings, which means risk of death and serious injury, had been in place around the River Derwent in Derbyshire over the weekend but were downgraded on Sunday morning.
As of 11am, more than 170 flood warnings, where less dangerous flooding is expected, remained in place across England.
Derbyshire Police said they were called at around 10.35am on Saturday to the sudden death of a woman in Tapton Terrace, Chesterfield, and the force believes it was “related to the flooding seen in the Chesterfield area”.
Meanwhile, London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has advised its customers there are no services operating north of Edinburgh to Aberdeen.
ScotRail said routes remain closed between Aberdeen and Dundee, and Aberdeen and Elgin.
The Scottish train operator said it cannot run services on the Fife Circle route, or between Inverness and Wick, Thurso and Kyle of Lochalsh.
Met Office spokesman Dave Britton said those worst affected by the flooding caused by Storm Babet could see “a couple of quieter days”.
Mr Britton told the PA news agency: “Certainly through today and tomorrow, (there is) a period of more settled weather allowing for a respite for recovery.
“There is this pulse of rain moving its way north overnight later on Monday and into Tuesday, but the rest of the week does look like it remains rather unsettled with spells of rain at times.
“But there are no warnings in force at the time for the remainder of the week, bar an ice warning for part of North Scotland tonight.”
The Energy Network Association (ENA) said a “small handful” of homes would still be without power on Sunday after around 100,000 customers were initially affected by power cuts.
On Friday, a man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing floodwater in the town of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire.
Police Scotland previously said a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday evening, killing the 56-year-old driver.
A 57-year-old woman also died on Thursday after being swept into a river in the region.
A search is also under way in Aberdeenshire after a report of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.
Published: by Radio NewsHub