RAIN SET TO EASE IN FLOOD-STRICKEN AREAS AS JOHNSON CALLS COBRA MEETING
The Prime Minister is set to chair a meeting of the Government's emergency committee after severe flooding in parts of the country where rain is finally expected to ease on Tuesday afternoon.
Severe flooding hit several areas in Yorkshire and the East Midlands last week with areas around the River Don near Doncaster worst affected after the river burst its banks.
Downpours last week meant several areas in Yorkshire and the East Midlands were struck by a month's worth of rain in a single day.
Around half the 700 residents of Fishlake, near Doncaster, left the village and those who stayed behind have faced waist-high floods.
Annie Hall, the former high sheriff of Derbyshire, died after she was swept away by water on Friday in Darley Dale, near Matlock.
The Cobra (Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms) meeting will take place on Tuesday afternoon and comes after Jeremy Corbyn sent a letter to Boris Johnson urging him to convene the emergency response committee.
"If this had happened in Surrey, not Yorkshire or the East Midlands, it seems far more likely that a national emergency would have been declared," the Labour leader wrote, adding that he disagreed with the PM's assessment at the weekend that the flooding was not a national emergency.
Helen Roberts, a meteorologist for the Met Office, told the PA news agency that the rain was finally going to move southwards away from the affected area on Tuesday afternoon.
Ms Roberts said there was an "improving picture for that part of the country" but warned there could still be some heavy rain on Tuesday morning.
She said: "What we've got is a band of rain moving across that part of the country, particularly first thing in the morning.
"It's sort of gradually going to move its way southwards as the day goes on."
Five severe flood warnings from the Environment Agency remain in place around Doncaster, warning of a danger to life in the areas around the River Don at Bentley, Fishlake, Kirk Bramwith, South Bramwith and Willow Bridge Caravan Site.
Thirty-eight flood warnings are in place across the country, with 12 around the River Don.
The Met Office has a yellow weather warning for rain in place until midday on Tuesday, covering parts of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and Sheffield.
A yellow Met Office weather warning is also in place for North Wales and across the north of England for high winds.
Ms Roberts added that Tuesday will be a "windy day for all" with the possibility of showers in places, but many people will see some good weather.
"The rain will move itself southwards as the day goes on. There will be a great deal of dry and bright weather," Ms Roberts added.
Published: by Radio NewsHub