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| UK floods: Homes without power as new storm approaches | UK floods: Homes without power as new storm approaches |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Engineers are working to restore power to thousands of UK homes as forecasters warn a storm on Friday could be worse than Wednesday's destructive weather. | Engineers are working to restore power to thousands of UK homes as forecasters warn a storm on Friday could be worse than Wednesday's destructive weather. |
| BBC Weather's John Hammond said the storm, approaching from the Atlantic, would be "every bit as intense, if not more" compared with Wednesday's. | BBC Weather's John Hammond said the storm, approaching from the Atlantic, would be "every bit as intense, if not more" compared with Wednesday's. |
| About 56,000 UK properties remain without electricity after gusts of wind up to 112mph were recorded. | About 56,000 UK properties remain without electricity after gusts of wind up to 112mph were recorded. |
| More rain is also expected, bringing further problems for flooded areas. | More rain is also expected, bringing further problems for flooded areas. |
| The Met Office has issued an amber "be prepared" warning for rain in south-west England on Friday, and another for wind along England's south coast on Friday evening and into Saturday. | |
| It has also issued several lower-level yellow warnings for rain, snow and wind across much of the UK. | |
| "It looks like being the wettest winter on record and the groundwater has got nowhere to go," Mr Hammond said. | "It looks like being the wettest winter on record and the groundwater has got nowhere to go," Mr Hammond said. |
| "The ground is like a sponge, the sponge is full to overflowing. What we do not need is more rain. [But] what we are going to get is another storm." | "The ground is like a sponge, the sponge is full to overflowing. What we do not need is more rain. [But] what we are going to get is another storm." |
| He said Friday's storm would reach south-west England in the early hours, with 15-25mm (up to 1in) of rain expected across southern counties, and "double that" possible in parts of the South West. | |
| He added that winds of 70-80mph would affect the south coast of England late on Friday and into Saturday morning. | |
| More persistent rain "will tend to ease away" over the weekend, he said, and there was "just a hint" that weather next week would be less severe and there would be longer gaps between storms. | |
| Sixteen severe flood warnings remain for Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset - all already hit by flooding. | Sixteen severe flood warnings remain for Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset - all already hit by flooding. |
| Parts of the Somerset Levels have been flooded for several weeks, while areas near the Thames in Berkshire and Surrey have seen major flooding in recent days. | Parts of the Somerset Levels have been flooded for several weeks, while areas near the Thames in Berkshire and Surrey have seen major flooding in recent days. |
| The Environment Agency has also issued more than 300 less serious flood warnings and alerts, mostly in southern England and the Midlands. | The Environment Agency has also issued more than 300 less serious flood warnings and alerts, mostly in southern England and the Midlands. |
| Train services in parts of the UK are cancelled and some roads are closed. | Train services in parts of the UK are cancelled and some roads are closed. |
| It comes after parts of the transport network struggled to cope during Wednesday's severe weather. | It comes after parts of the transport network struggled to cope during Wednesday's severe weather. |
| In other developments: | In other developments: |
| Wales bore the brunt of the hurricane-force winds on Wednesday, but a rare "red warning" for wind is no longer in place. | Wales bore the brunt of the hurricane-force winds on Wednesday, but a rare "red warning" for wind is no longer in place. |
| Tim Field, of the Energy Networks Association, which represents UK energy companies, said earlier that about three quarters of the properties with no electricity were in Wales, while the remainder were spread across northern and south-west England and the West Midlands. | Tim Field, of the Energy Networks Association, which represents UK energy companies, said earlier that about three quarters of the properties with no electricity were in Wales, while the remainder were spread across northern and south-west England and the West Midlands. |
| Mr Field said engineers had restored power to 402,000 customers since Wednesday's storm hit. | Mr Field said engineers had restored power to 402,000 customers since Wednesday's storm hit. |
| "The pylons and the wires themselves are very resilient to strong winds. It is other airborne objects and debris - like uprooted trees - that cannot hold on in those sorts of 100mph winds. It is these things that are causing power lines to come down," he said. | "The pylons and the wires themselves are very resilient to strong winds. It is other airborne objects and debris - like uprooted trees - that cannot hold on in those sorts of 100mph winds. It is these things that are causing power lines to come down," he said. |
| Engineers will work throughout the day to try to restore power by this evening to those customers still without, he added. | Engineers will work throughout the day to try to restore power by this evening to those customers still without, he added. |
| Mark Bradshaw, of East Ilsley, Berkshire, said he had experienced three power cuts in 12 hours. "With a seven-week-old baby, we are really worried that we cannot heat or sterilise her bottles as we have no gas," he said. | Mark Bradshaw, of East Ilsley, Berkshire, said he had experienced three power cuts in 12 hours. "With a seven-week-old baby, we are really worried that we cannot heat or sterilise her bottles as we have no gas," he said. |
| Travel problems include the following: | Travel problems include the following: |
| More snow | More snow |
| Forecasters are also warning of the possibility of significant snowfall in Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and northern England on Friday. | Forecasters are also warning of the possibility of significant snowfall in Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and northern England on Friday. |
| Environment Agency programme director Toby Willison said many rivers in southern England were at their highest recorded levels. | Environment Agency programme director Toby Willison said many rivers in southern England were at their highest recorded levels. |
| "This is an exceptional event. It was the highest rainfall in January since 1776 and we think it is likely December, January and February will be the highest for 250 years," he added. | "This is an exceptional event. It was the highest rainfall in January since 1776 and we think it is likely December, January and February will be the highest for 250 years," he added. |
| Hundreds of armed forces personnel are continuing to help those affected by the flooding and 2,000 remain ready to help. | Hundreds of armed forces personnel are continuing to help those affected by the flooding and 2,000 remain ready to help. |
| Are you in the affected areas? Have you been affected by the flooding? Email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Are you in the affected areas? Have you been affected by the flooding? Email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
| Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here. | Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here. |
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