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UK floods: Homes without power as new storm approaches UK floods: More rain and high winds forecast
(about 1 hour later)
Engineers are working to restore power to thousands of UK homes as forecasters warn weather on Friday could be worse than Wednesday's destructive storm. A new band of heavy rain is expected to hit the UK on Friday, as engineers work to reconnect power supplies cut off by Wednesday's storm.
BBC Weather's John Hammond said the rain and wind, coming from the Atlantic, would be "every bit as intense, if not more" than Wednesday's. Forecasters expect the rain to reach the South West at about 06:00 GMT before moving north across the country.
About 56,000 UK properties remain without electricity after gusts of wind up to 112mph were recorded. But BBC Weather's Darren Bett offered some hope to flood-hit areas, saying this severe weather was "hopefully the last in a long line" to hit the UK.
More rain is also expected, bringing further problems for flooded areas. Very high winds are forecast for Friday evening and Saturday morning.
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. Our forecaster said there would be rain for most of the UK on Saturday, with up to 40mm (1.5in) in some parts of south-west England, where many areas are already flooded.
It has also issued several lower-level yellow warnings for rain, snow and wind across much of the UK. This would fall as snow on hills in places including Wales, the Pennines, Northern Ireland and Scotland, he added.
"It looks like being the wettest winter on record and the groundwater has got nowhere to go," our forecaster said. High winds - with gusts of 60-70mph inland and up to 80mph on England's south coast - are expected from Friday evening until Saturday morning.
"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 Met Office has issued several amber and yellow weather warnings for rain, wind and snow.
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. Our forecaster said some showers and high winds were expected on Saturday, but Sunday should be "mostly dry" and next week's weather - while still "unsettled" - was not expected to be as wet or windy as in recent days.
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.
Forecasters are also warning of the possibility of significant snowfall in Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and northern England on Friday.
Seventeen severe flood warnings have been issued for parts of Berkshire, Surrey, Somerset and Gloucestershire.
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 latest severe warning was for the River Severn at Alney Island, Gloucester.
The Environment Agency has also issued more than 300 less serious flood warnings and alerts, mostly in southern England and the Midlands.
The agency said it had brought in six "very big" pumps from Holland to add to the 96 already at work on the Somerset Levels.
Government reviews
The government will conduct a series of reviews into the UK's readiness to cope with future flood and storm emergencies, the BBC News Channel's political correspondent Norman Smith said.
There will be a review into the resilience of the transport network, investment guidelines on flood defences, and the Bellwin scheme of emergency funding for local authorities.
There will also be an "annual resilience review" designed to come up with recommendations for the government's long-term strategies for dealing with extreme weather.
The decision was taken at the first monthly meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Flooding, chaired by the prime minister earlier.
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. More than 43,000 UK properties remain without electricity after gusts of wind up to 112mph were recorded.
Mr Field said engineers had restored power to 402,000 customers since Wednesday's storm hit. Tim Field, of the Energy Networks Association, which represents UK energy companies, said engineers had restored power to 414,000 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. More
Seventeen severe flood warnings are currently in force for parts of Berkshire, Surrey, Somerset and Gloucestershire.
Some 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 latest severe warning was for the River Severn at Alney Island, Gloucester.
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.
Travel problems include the following:Travel problems include the following:
Environment Agency programme director Toby Willison said many rivers in southern England were at their highest recorded levels. The Ministry of Defence said more than 2,000 military personnel were helping flood relief efforts, with a 1,000 more "at a state of high readiness to assist if requested".
"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.
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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