Hundreds of residents were forced to evacuate their homes while transport has been left severely disrupted after Storm Dennis lashed the UK with heavy rain and strong winds over the weekend.
The Environment Agency issued a record number of flood alerts – more than 600, including four severe “danger to life” warnings – as more than a month’s worth of rain fell in 48 hours in some parts of the country.
After police forces declared major incidents in south Wales, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, recovery efforts are now underway to help those worst affected by Storm Dennis. Follow our live updates below:
Storm Dennis: Round-up of Monday's updates
- Police fear a woman has died after being swept away by floodwater while the bodies of two men were pulled from rough seas off Kent on Saturday
- In South Wales, residents have been returning to their homes to survey and repair the damage
- Five severe flood warnings are in place across England
- As of 11am on Monday, more than 500 flood alerts and warnings covered much of England, stretching from the North West to the South West
- Flooding in Hereford is "of most concern" to authorities
- Water levels for the River Ouse in York expected to reach their peak on Tuesday
- CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southern, Thameslink and Transport for Wales were among the operators with delays and cancellations
- The Government has activated the Bellwin scheme to provide emergency financial assistance to storm-hit areas
That concludes our rolling coverage of the reaction from Storm Dennis. Updates will appear on the The Independentthroughout the rest of today.
An update here from political editor Andrew Woodcock:
It is understood that prime minister Boris Johnson is not planning to visit flood-hit areas of the country on Monday, which he is spending at the foreign secretary’s country residence Chevening in Kent.
Downing Street has not announced any meetings of the government’s Cobra emergencies committee to discuss the floods.
A No 10 spokesman said: “The prime minister is receiving regular updates on this. Defra and the relevant agencies, the police and the fire and rescue services on the ground continue to work on it.”
The spokesman declined to comment on why the PM had visited flood-hit areas of Yorkshire in the run-up to the general election, but had opted not to do so following the election.
“I would point you to the work that’s already gone on over the weekend and prior to it happening,” said the spokesman. “Defra and the Environment Agency are working closely with local communities.
“We’ve deployed 5km of flood barriers across the country, 1,000 EA staff are working round the clock with police, fire and rescue and local authorities, and the military were deployed.”
A woman has been presumed dead after being swept away by floods during Storm Dennis, according to police.
West Mercia Police said they believe their search “will now be a recovery rather than rescue operation” after a person went missing in Worcestershire over the weekend.
The woman was carried away by flood water near Tenbury Wells.
Chief Superintendent Tom Harding said a search and rescue operation was called off on Sunday night “for safety reasons and with a heavy heart” after emergency services had spent the day looking for the missing person.
Read more below:
The "majority" of train services are "now running as scheduled", according to Network Rail.
Storm Dennis has had a "a significant impact" on the UK's railways, with lines blocked by flooding and fallen trees.
A spokesman said: "The heavy rainfall, combined with already waterlogged ground conditions, has led to flooding in a number of areas across the network.
"Our engineers have been working in extremely difficult conditions throughout Sunday and overnight to clear the tracks and keep passengers moving."
He said "the majority of services are now running as scheduled" but urged anyone travelling in the coming days to check for delays and cancellations.
Latest weather updates from the Met Office
More information from the Environment Agency
Particular concern has been raised for towns along the River Severn, including Shrewsbury, Tewkesbury and Bewdley, and River Wye.
According to Dave Throup, an Environment Agency manager for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, the Wye is at its highest ever recorded level.
A new supercomputer designed to improve severe weather and climate forecasting is to receive £1.2 billion from the Government towards its development.
The technology will be managed by the Met Office, with the aim of offering more sophisticated rainfall predictions and better forecasting at airports.
Data collected by the powerful device will also be used to help more accurately predict storms, select the most suitable locations for flood defences and predict changes to the global climate.
According to the Government, the supercomputer is expected to be the world's most advanced of its kind dedicated to weather and climate.
"This investment will ultimately provide earlier, more accurate warning of severe weather, the information needed to build a more resilient world in a changing climate and help support the transition to a low-carbon economy across the UK," said Professor Penny Endersby, Met Office chief executive.
"It will help the UK to continue to lead the field in weather and climate science and services, working collaboratively to ensure that the benefits of our work help Government, the public and industry make better decisions to stay safe and thrive."
The Government hopes the technology will be able to help ensure communities can better prepare for weather disruption such as that from recent storms Dennis and Ciara.
An update from the Environment Agency:
UPDATE: Flood warnings for England, Scotland and Wales
England
- Severe flood warnings: 5
- Warnings: 221
- Alerts: 277
Scotland
- Severe flood warnings: 0
- Warnings: 12
- Alerts: 11
Wales
- Severe flood warnings: 0
- Warnings: 24
- Alerts: 30
A girl was left with minor injuries after a tree was uprooted and crashed through her bedroom window during Storm Dennis.
The tree hit a block of flats in Hanham, Briston on Sunday night, with several residents requiring treatment.
A spokesperson for Avon Fire and Rescue Service said the girl was on her bed playing on her phone when the tree fell. She "thankfully" only sustained small cuts.
Six families been forced to leave their homes at Grange Court, close to Hanham High Street.
The flats have been cordoned off while the tree is removed.
BREAKING
Chief Superintendent Tom Harding of West Mercia Police said: "Last night for safety reasons and with a heavy heart, the rescue operation was called off.
"It was not a decision that any of the emergency services took lightly, but Fire and Rescue colleagues who were co-ordinating the operation took the decision as conditions became extremely challenging due to darkness and fast flowing flood water.
"The search has continued this morning, including the use of the police helicopter. Sadly, however, due to the circumstances of the length of time in the water and other conditions we believe that this will now be a recovery rather than rescue operation. Her family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.
"A man was recovered from the water as a result of the same incident, and was airlifted to hospital where he currently remains in a stable condition."
Water levels appear to be falling in Worcestershire, one of the five areas in England where a severe flood warning has been issued.
It's not just the UK that has suffered. Storm Dennis has left its mark across Europe as it continues its journey into the North Sea.
More than half a dozen roads and several passes in Norway were closed because of strong winds and heavy rain, while the south-western Danish city of Kolding and its surrounding area were flooded.
Emergency services in the city at the end of the Kolding Fjord on the eastern side of the Jutland peninsula were pumping out water from basements and using sand bags to try to contain the water.
In Estonia, some 1,200 households were without electricity, the Baltic News Service reported.
In other news, authorities are set to inspect a 'ghost ship' on Ireland's south coast after it was ran aground by Storm Dennis.
The Alta, an 80-metre cargo ship that was abandoned by its crew in October 2018, has been adrift in the Atlantic for over a year.
Sir James Bevan, the head of the Environment Agency, has said it is not possible to make the entire country flood-proof.
"The Environment Agency’s job is to do the best we can to protect everybody in England - we can never protect every single household against flooding but we can and do protect most communities most of the time," he told the BBC today.
"You can never make the country flood-proof, what we can do is make the country much more resilient than it has been to flooding and that is the job that we are focused on."
This comes as environment secretary George Eustice admitted that extreme weather events like Storm Dennis are “becoming more frequent”.
“We are sadly suffering more and more of these extreme weather events", he said. "With this particular storm, because it came on the back of other storms and the land was already saturated, because there were quite widespread impacts, this is having effects right across the country."
A nice touch from Hereford FC. The club has announced it's opening its door to those in the local area who have been affected by Storm Dennis:
Storm Dennis - in pictures:
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Travel correspondent Simon Calder has all the latest on the UK's travel disruption after the passing of Storm Dennis:
The Government announced today that it had activated the Bellwin scheme to provide financial assistance to storm-hit areas.
Under the scheme, local authorities dealing with the storm's impact can apply to have 100 per cent of eligible costs above a threshold reimbursed by the Government.
Areas set to receive funding include parts of Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
As of 8am, the EA had five severe flood warnings in place for England, meaning there is a "danger to life".
These cover parts of the River Teme in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire, and the River Wye at Blackmarstone, Hereford.
Pictures posted online showed pictures of flooded streets in Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire, with one woman whose family had sent her pictures from the area describing it as "scary".
An emergency relief centre has been opened in Tenbury High Ormiston Academy for people affected by flooding.
The EA said river levels at Tenbury peaked at nearly 20ft (6m) on Sunday evening and warned that more rain is expected throughout Monday.
Meanwhile, the EA said water levels on the River Ouse in York are set to peak on Tuesday afternoon but at levels below those seen during the widespread flooding in the city in 2015 and 2000.
Further north, The Scottish Borders Council said the village of Newcastleton had experienced the worst flooding in recent times.
