There has already been one fatality in London as the effects of Storm Desmond tore through Britain, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to parts of Scotland and northern England.
The UK Environment Agency has made 130 flood warnings this weekend as Storm Desmond wreaks havoc across Britain, bringing strong winds and heavy rains that caused the country of Cumbria to declare a major incident.
Yet Storm Desmond’s power was not just felt in northern parts: in London on Saturday, a Scotland Yard spokesman said that a 90-year-old man died after being blown into the side of a moving bus by a strong gust of wind near Finchley Central Tube station in London.
The rain continued to fall over the weekend in Scotland, northern England and northern parts of Wales, with forecasters predicting that the rain will continue through Sunday. Some parts of Britain have seen more than a month’s worth of rain in the last 24 hours.
Channel 4 News weather presenter Liam Dutton said that the rain will start to ease and clear southwards by around dawn on Sunday morning, leaving a drier, brighter day on Sunday with lighter winds.
Most of Eamont Bridge seems to be flooded out pic.twitter.com/iEhOBUmn2V
— alex thomson (@alextomo) December 6, 2015
Cumbria was among the worst affected by Storm Desmond’s onslaught, with the village of Braithwaite becoming completely cut off when its main bridge collapsed after the river burst its banks. Electricity North West said another 4,000 properties were without power across Cumbria.
The British Red Cross has now set up rest centres in Keswick, Appleby and Kendal.
Our chief correspondent, Alex Thomson, was in Appleby-in-Westmorland yesterday and is now in the small village of Eamont Bridge in Cumbria. Here are his latest tweets on the flooding situation in the area – you can follow him @alextomo
Dog rescue – Eamont Bridge pic.twitter.com/t3HWwHhTwA
— alex thomson (@alextomo) December 6, 2015
From our vantage point I’d say at least 60% of homes in Eamont Bridge flooded – rescue teams going house to house now
— alex thomson (@alextomo) December 6, 2015
Sydney Hassell rescued “it was the most terrifying thing in my life. Six feet of water and smell of gas.” pic.twitter.com/HadBDigxv5
— alex thomson (@alextomo) December 6, 2015
There’s not much folk can do right now but watch it subside – Appleby pic.twitter.com/ZdNlu7I203
— alex thomson (@alextomo) December 6, 2015