More than 100 flood alerts are active across the UK after Storms Austen and Boelo battered the country over the weekend, leaving an estimated 90,000 people without power and causing two deaths.
The storms brought gales and heavy downpours, with more than 68mm (two inches) of rain falling on Sunday alone across the Scottish Highlands. Two people — a man in his 20s in Mill Hill, north London, and another in his 60s in Dumfries and Galloway — died after being crushed by trees toppled by the extreme weather.
Flood warnings and alerts in place
Authorities have more than 100 flood alerts in place, including six warnings where flooding "is expected" imminently. The Environment Agency (EA) says the severest concern is for the Irish Sea at New Brighton, Merseyside, and parts of the south coast, such as South Hayling and South Eastoke seafront in Hampshire.
The EA specifies flooding "is expected" in these areas and four more, and so communities should "act now" given the potential danger. It has 54 flood alerts in place, which are less severe, but concern is strong enough to keep tabs on numerous spots along the south coast and east coast.
The majority of today's flood alerts concern waterways across England, but there are 37 spots of concern across Scotland, and Wales is monitoring 14 areas. There are no alerts or warnings in Northern Ireland.
Power cuts and travel disruption
Areas included in those warnings, especially coastal communities, could be impacted by new power cuts, and people have been told to pack essential items like torches and batteries in case they should experience outages. Travel delays are also expected as those communities roiled by winds and rain over the weekend remain disconnected from their neighbours.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Leo Slade, CEO of the Energy Networks Association, said safety engineers cannot be despatched until the severe weather passes. He said: "Until that weather system passes, we can't safely get engineers out to replace poles, to get wires back up, so today is going to be a hive of activity in getting engineers out into the field."
Weather outlook
Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Steven Keates said: "While the start of this week will be notably wet and windy, high pressure is expected to bring a quieter spell of weather later in the week. From Wednesday, high pressure will start to build which will ease the winds and bring a quieter and largely drier end to the week for many, although some rain is still possible in the north and west."
However, with wind warnings in place, those in warnings areas, particularly in northern Scotland and western high ground continue to be exposed to strong winds and heavy rain before the more settled weather arrives.
