Weather: Ireland And UK Battered By Storms

Hurricane-speed gusts and driving rain have been lashing Britain and Ireland for the second time this week, with warnings of more flooding and trouble for travellers.

Just a few days after thousands of people's Christmas travel plans were ruined, the Met Office has issued another slew of severe weather warnings.

The Bognor Regis rail route was closed after this landslip at Ockley

Hundreds of flights and train journeys have been cancelled and diverted and tens of thousands of homes and businesses are without power.

Police are warning people to take "extreme caution" when driving in the ferocious conditions, which look set to calm over the next 24 hours.

The warning came as the Highways Agency closed the Humber Bridge to high-sided vehicles due to the winds and a lorry was reported to have overturned near Immingham docks, north of Grimsby.

And Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue service said the roof of the Chill Factore ski centre in Manchester has been damaged for the second time in recent weeks.

The worst of the winds hit Ireland, Wales, the North and western Scotland, while rain fell on already soaked ground in the South East bringing more flooding misery.

This landslip also blocked the line on the Brighton Main Line near Redhill

In transport, Southeastern trains said it would not be running any services until further notice, while Virgin, East Coast and Southern trains also warned of travel disruption.

There are also no trains from Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Airport, and between London's Victoria station and Gatwick Airport.

Dublin Airport is not allowing aircraft to leave due to the high winds.

A tweet from the airport said: "No flight departures so far this morning due to gale force winds blowing across both runways."

And Gatwick Airport said it had "additional teams of engineers, electrical staff and volunteers at the airport to minimise the risk of disruption".

The storm spread east across the UK throughout the morning, with the worst-affected areas in northern England and northern parts of Wales.

:: Watch Sky News to see weather forecasts on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

Police and fire services across both the UK and Ireland have reported road closures because of uprooted trees.

The Environment Agency map showing flood warnings and alerts in the UK

The Met Office recorded a gust of wind in Aberdaron, in West Wales, of 109mph early this morning. General wind speeds were expected to be between 60mph and 80mph.

The Environment Agency (EA) is warning of more "significant disruption" across southern England.

A spokesperson for the agency said overnight rainfall was less than expected, with around 10mm falling in the south east.

A man removes items from his home after flooding in Tonbridge

The spokesperson added: "The levels are still peaking for rivers with bigger catchment areas, such as the Stour through Canterbury and Ashford and the River Medway, which runs through Maidstone."

Around 1,200 properties have been flooded so far, according to the EA, with 50 flood warnings and 150 flood alerts in place.

The highest ever water levels were recorded downstream of the Leigh Barrier, a large storage reservoir which protects Tonbridge in Kent from flooding.

According to ESB Networks, in Ireland, some 35,000 homes and businesses are understood to be without power with engineers dealing with hundreds of individual faults.

A man paddles his canoe past a flooded property in Yalding

Met Eireann imposed red alert warnings in the south and eastern parts, with Wexford, Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Waterford experiencing the worst of the stormy weather.

AA Roadwatch described driving conditions on Ireland's country roads as "treacherous" - and advised motorists to drive with extreme care.

Northern Ireland Electricity also said it had around 4,000 customers without power.

A downed tree in Toys Hill, Kent

In England and Wales, some 13,500 homes had no electricity, according to the Energy Networks Association.

And in Scotland, 3,000 homes were cut off by downed power lines.

Network Rail advises that routes need to be checked and tracks will need to be cleared of any fallen trees and any damage will need repaired before train services can start.

Waves smash against a flood wall in County Donegal. Pic: Mitchell family

Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations at Network Rail, said: "Passengers have had a tough week of travelling and unfortunately that is likely to continue for at least another day.

"Thousands of railway workers have worked tirelessly over the holiday period to try and repair the significant damage caused by Monday's storm and will be called on again over the next 24 hours.

"As ever, safety comes first, as we ensure routes are safe for passenger services leading to a delayed start-up in some regions."

ESB Networks engineers attempt to repair downed power lines in Ireland

More than 43,000 people were left without power following Monday night's storm and around 1,200 properties were flooded in England.

Sky News Weather Presenter Isobel Lang said: "If you're travelling today, there will be really squally, buffeting winds everywhere, trans-Pennine routes especially, it will be really bad today."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Weather: Ireland And UK Battered By Storms

Dengan url

http://terjunbebasopan.blogspot.com/2013/12/weather-ireland-and-uk-battered-by.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Weather: Ireland And UK Battered By Storms

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Weather: Ireland And UK Battered By Storms

sebagai sumbernya