UK weather: ‘Danger to life’ warnings as Storm Dennis swells rivers to ‘exceptional levels’

Severe flood warnings – indicating a danger to life – have remained in force across England and Wales in the aftermath of Storm Dennis.

The Environment Agency says rivers have been swollen to “exceptional” levels in parts of the UK, and in some areas, water levels continued to rise overnight.

Tuesday has brought a brief respite from the worst of the weather for most, although fresh downpours in Wales were forecast and there are yellow warnings for snow and ice in Scotland.

Further heavy rain is forecast on Wednesday and Thursday, and this could affect already flooded areas, with yellow warnings covering North and South Wales on both days.

Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said: “With the ground being so saturated it’s not going to help the situation.

“And there’s more persistent rain coming on Wednesday. There will be wet and windy weather across the UK on Wednesday and Thursday… with the heavy rain coming back.”

The yellow weather warnings for rain in Wales have been issued by the Met Office and they are in force from 6pm on Wednesday until 3pm on Thursday.

Forecasters have warned the rain “may become persistent, and possibly heavy, over areas of high ground” in Wales, and these weather warnings could be extended to the North West of England.

But the Met Office is not currently forecasting the imminent arrival of another named storm, after Ciara and Dennis arrived in quick succession this month.

They followed Atiyah in early December and Brendan in January.

Next on the list will be Ellen, but the Met Office does not name a storm until it has the potential to cause amber or red weather warnings.

But while Ellen is not on the horizon just yet, one official has warned residents in the worst-hit parts of the UK that they are “not out of the woods yet”.

People in affected areas of Shropshire who are yet to leave their homes have been urged to do so.

In England, there have been severe flood warnings in place at:

• The River Trent at Burton upon Trent
• The River Wye at Blackmarstone in Hereford and at Hampton Bishop
• The River Severn at Uckinghall and at New Street and Waterside in Upton upon Severn
• The River Lugg at Hampton Bishop.

The warning for the River Severn in Telford has already prompted the evacuation of about 30 properties as water pressure caused the road surface to crack and levels threatened to overtop the barrier.

The Environment Agency said river levels could reach 22ft (6.7m) by the afternoon.

Environment Agency manager for Herefordshire and Worcestershire Dave Throup said the water was at “exceptionally high levels” around Ironbridge and Bridgnorth.

West Mercia Police said residents in Upton upon Severn and Uckinghall, in Worcestershire, were advised to evacuate yesterday but flood defences there have not been breached – a rare positive for the locals.

But Mr Throup has urged people in those areas to “remain vigilant”, saying: “There may be some short-term drops in levels but they may well rise again.

“We’re certainly not out of the woods yet, there is quite a long way to go with this flood.”

Evacuations have also been carried out in Hereford, where the River Wye reached its highest level on record.

In Wales, “danger to life” flood warnings have been in force for the River Wye in Monmouth, where water levels were only expected to peak between 3am and 7am today.

Homes there have also been evacuated.

Major incidents have been declared in South Wales, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire – among the worst affected areas by the weekend’s storm.

Hundreds of properties have been flooded nationwide, and a woman who was swept away by floodwater near Tenbury in Worcestershire on Sunday was found dead on Monday.

A statement from the family of Yvonne Booth, 55, from the Great Barr area of Birmingham, said: “Yvonne is a very much-loved member of our family and we are all devastated by this news.”

The prime minister has been accused of refusing to visit affected communities, with shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard calling Boris Johnson’s response to the crisis a “disgrace”.

Mr Johnson has resisted calls to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee Cobra, which Labour leadership candidate Sir Keir Starmer described as an “appalling decision”.

He added: “The recent flooding is a stark reminder that the government is not doing enough to get to grips with the climate crisis. Ministers should be taking a lead on this situation, not ducking their responsibilities.”

Downing Street said Mr Johnson was receiving regular updates.

(c) Sky News 2020: UK weather: ‘Danger to life’ warnings as Storm Dennis swells rivers to ‘exceptional levels’