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Fierce storms force mass evacuations in England as man is killed | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A man has died and thousands of homes have been evacuated or left without power as a fierce storm battered large parts of England. | |
The man was riding a mobility scooter when he was struck by a falling tree in Retford, Nottinghamshire. | The man was riding a mobility scooter when he was struck by a falling tree in Retford, Nottinghamshire. |
The Environment Agency said Thursday's North Sea tidal surge was set to be the worst in 60 years. | |
Philip Rothwell from the organisation said he was "very concerned" about what may happen overnight. | |
"We think it will be equal to if not worse than that which we saw in 1953 which was a disastrous flood causing many casualties," he said. | |
In Norfolk, the army was called in to help build temporary flood barriers in Gorleston, the Conservative MP for Great Yarmouth, Brandon Lewis, said. | |
Flooding was also reported in Blakeney and Wells-next-the-Sea. | |
Earlier, 20,000 homes across Cumbria and Teesside were left without power as the heavy winds and tidal surge made its way down the east coast from Scotland. | |
Roofs blown off | Roofs blown off |
The River Tyne and River Tees burst their banks in the North East as heavy rain forced dozens of major road closures from about 16:30 GMT. | The River Tyne and River Tees burst their banks in the North East as heavy rain forced dozens of major road closures from about 16:30 GMT. |
Dave Cocks from the RNLI in Redcar said the tide on the River Tees was the highest measured "for 150 years". | |
In Lincolnshire, people were warned to leave their homes and members of public were asked not to attend the accident and emergency department of Pilgrim Hospital in Boston unless absolutely necessary. | |
In the Midlands, a pilot trying to land a plane at Birmingham Airport was forced to abort the manoeuvre at the last moment due to heavy winds. | In the Midlands, a pilot trying to land a plane at Birmingham Airport was forced to abort the manoeuvre at the last moment due to heavy winds. |
A separate Flybe flight from Jersey, due to land at the same time, was diverted to East Midlands Airport because of the same problem. | A separate Flybe flight from Jersey, due to land at the same time, was diverted to East Midlands Airport because of the same problem. |
The storm was forecast to move south throughout the evening with emergency services urging homeowners to take precautions. | |
It was expected to drift down the east coast into Suffolk with Lowestoft, Southwold and surrounding marshes expected to be under threat at about midnight. | |
High winds had earlier caused lories to overturn in Greater Manchester and on the Redheugh Bridge in Newcastle during the morning rush hour. | |
An Easyjet flight from Bristol to Edinburgh was diverted to Newcastle due to the high winds, but was struck by lightning on approach to the airport. | An Easyjet flight from Bristol to Edinburgh was diverted to Newcastle due to the high winds, but was struck by lightning on approach to the airport. |
In New Brighton, Merseyside, flooding took place during high tide on the seafront. | In New Brighton, Merseyside, flooding took place during high tide on the seafront. |
Elsewhere in England: | Elsewhere in England: |
High winds and heavy rain led to long delays for commuters during the evening rush hour. | |
Network Rail said it had attempted to keep as much of the network open as possible but there were reports of passengers being stranded at stations including Manchester Piccadilly. | |
East Coast said it hoped to run a normal service on Friday after severe disruption on Thursday. | |