As hundreds of flood alerts hit England, a severe weather warning was issued for Scotland.
As rain continues to lash parts of the UK on Saturday, Storm Babet is showing no signs of letting up after three people died in “biblical” conditions.
After Friday’s turmoil, First Minister Humza Yousaf warned that “we have not seen the last of this” and issued a second unusual red “danger to life” weather warning for portions of Angus and Aberdeenshire on Scotland’s east coast.
Large areas of England have had their yellow and amber warnings lifted, with the exception of a yellow “be aware” signal for wind that extends from Whitby, Yorkshire, all the way up to Aberdeen.
However, there are still flood warnings in place.
The Energy Networks Association reported that on Saturday morning, there were over 353 warnings and 248 alerts throughout England, and that 55,000 customers lost power on Friday.
Of them, 45,000 were reconnected last night.
Natural Resources Wales has issued 25 flood alerts and 12 warnings, while the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reports that it has 12 flood alerts, 17 flood warnings, and five severe flood warnings in effect.
For the majority of central and northeastern Scotland, the Met Office has issued a yellow rain alert; amber rain warnings are in effect for Highland Perthshire and the eastern Highlands to the north of Inverness.
In a post on X, the previous Twitter platform, the forecaster stated that Sheffield, South Yorkshire, recorded the highest rainfall total of 84mm on Friday.
“The focus of the rainfall from Saturday shifts back northward over towards eastern and northern Scotland,” Meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey told the PA news agency.
There are more red and amber rain warnings in effect for Saturday, with the potential to push those areas close to two months of rain in the span of three days.
Some parts of those areas have already seen about a month and a half’s worth of rain, but there’s another band that’s forecast to track its way northwards over the course of the night and push its way towards relatively similar areas.
Although Mr. Vautrey noted that “gales in excess of 60-70 miles per hour” could be brought by the yellow wind warning affecting eastern Scotland and northeast England, he also noted that “that is going to work its way off (the coast) throughout Saturday, so from a wind aspect there will be some improvement.
“Three individuals have died as a result of the storm since Thursday, two of them were in Angus, Scotland: a 56-year-old man from the area was killed by a falling tree that struck his van, and a 57-year-old lady washed into a river.
In Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, on Friday, a man in his 60s drowned after being entangled in swiftly moving floodwaters.
His corpse was discovered by police two hours after he vanished beneath the surface.
The coastguard was asked to assist in the nearby town of Fowlis, outside of Dundee, after a bridge fell, bringing one automobile with it.
Vibrant pictures circulated on social media revealed the car completely immersed in the road up to its front doors; residents claimed that a nearby farmer had saved the driver.
Alternatively, Liverpool begin Trenta Alexander-Arnold was lucky to survive when, in 70 mph winds, a 40-foot electrical pylon collapsed into a BMW in front of his Range Rover.
The other car was struck by the half-ton power line that fell on top of it, but Alexander-Arnold and the other driver managed to escape unharmed.
Storm Babet has caused havoc elsewhere as well, bringing train services to a complete stop due to flooded railway lines and flooded roads that submerged cars in the street.
There are countless abandoned and waterlogged cars on the nation’s roads.
The Environment Agency’s Julie Foley, director of flood strategy and adaptation, has advised people to “really consider their travel plans” and advised against driving across floodwaters.
On Saturday, she said on BBC One’s Breakfast programme: “There is an immediate risk, so you need to take action right away.
If you receive a flood warning, move your family and valuables to a safe location, follow the advice of local emergency services and do some basic things like turn off your gas, electricity and water in your home.”
Additionally, if you receive a severe flood warning, it indicates that there is a risk to human life.
As such, it is crucial that you follow instructions to evacuate and take appropriate measures.
Sadly, the past several days have shown us just how frightening floodwaters can be.
It is imperative that people avoid areas where rivers are swollen.
It is crucial that people avoid driving across floodwaters since a car can move in as little as 30 centimetres of swiftly moving water.
Therefore, I strongly advise everyone to carefully assess their travel options.
I am fully aware that there is currently significant travel disruption occurring all around the nation.
Four people were rescued by fire and rescue personnel in Nottinghamshire after their automobile became stuck in floodwaters in Trowell, a few miles west of Nottingham.
The individuals were stranded on the roof of the vehicle.
Storm Babet’s effects forced the emergency services to declare a major incident and require the rescue of over 100 persons in Derbyshire on Friday.
On Friday, a school bus was captured on camera filling with yelling students who were pulling their legs up onto their seats.
Just before the water rushes in, one student is seen motioning for the others to board the bus’ upper deck.
As the water rises, the children’s terrified screams get louder, and one of them yells, “No, no, no, no.”
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue claimed that twenty people had to be rescued by emergency personnel from a care facility.
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service area manager Clive Stanbrook issued a warning on Saturday that floodwaters may continue to rise in the vicinity of Derby and throughout south Derbyshire.
He said on BBC Breakfast, “We saved more than a hundred lives yesterday.”
For instance, we had to rescue sixty individuals from a single Chesterfield road in the county’s north when the water level rose to the level of the cars and numerous HGVs became stuck.
In the Derbyshire village of Duffield, we saved twenty residents of one assisted living facility.
Additionally, 18 homes in the village of Ironville, which is located in the county’s north, were evacuated.
West Midlands Fire Services has dispatched two boat teams to assist in the rescue of individuals stranded by the flooding, Mr. Stanbrook continued, adding that officers had been working through the night to free victims.
In order to aid in the rescue of dogs and horses, the RSPCA has also offered the services of a boat crew in Derbyshire.
Mr. Stanbrook issued a warning, saying that driving through flooded areas on Saturday will be risky.
“The advice we give today is to travel only if absolutely, absolutely necessary,” he continued.
It’s fantastic news if the floodwaters recede.
Nevertheless, regardless of the vehicle you’re driving, there will still be silt and debris on the road that will put everyone on the road today in grave risk.
Kindly make sure you only travel if it is really required, regardless of the size of your car.
Please use caution when near canal and riverbanks.
They will have a supple quality.
If you’re walking or driving today, everything will be risky, so please only travel if absolutely essential.
On Friday, flooding on the A1 near Grantham resulted in delays of seventy minutes, according to National Highways.
South of the county, Suffolk declared a major emergency due to Storm Babet’s “major flooding.”
Residents of Debenham reported that floods had closed off the rural community, and tractors were being deployed to rescue persons stranded in the floodwaters.
Staff said that about fifty people were sleeping on crash mats in the nearby recreation centre.
Pictures of semi-submerged cars on X were published by fire departments in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire after the drivers were saved.
More than 100 people were saved on Friday, including 20 residents of a Duffield assisted living facility, according to Clive Stanbrook, the area manager for Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service, who spoke with BBC Breakfast on Saturday.
Already, the ‘exceptional’ weather phenomenon has blocked off rural villages, forced some residents in eastern Scotland to flee their homes, and caused roads and bridges to collapse.
An additional 70 to 100 mm of rain is predicted for parts of eastern Scotland today, with the biggest accumulations expected over the hills.
More rain is also anticipated in more areas of Wales, the Midlands, and northern England.
In Angus, east Scotland, there were over 75 individuals in rescue facilities, and according to Angus Council, over 60 homes in Brechin needed to be rescued since their residents had previously refused to be evacuated.
“People are devastated,” claimed Jacqui Semple, Angus Council’s head of risk, resilience, and safety.
This is terrible.
It would not be good.
Your possessions, your home, the mental and physical toll it took, and everything else associated with it all flooded.
All of the impacted individuals have been showing up at our rest facilities in such a state—wet, freezing, and incredibly agitated.
At Leeds Bradford Airport, a Tui flight had to have its passengers evacuated when it came off the runway while landing.
The Boeing 737-800 of flight TOM3551, which took off from Corfu shortly after 12.30 p.m. local time (10.30 a.m. BST), skidded off the tarmac and became stranded on the grass as it attempted to land at the airport in high winds.
At approximately 1.53 pm BST, the aircraft is said to have veered off the runway during landing, triggering the airport’s emergency siren.
It was referred to many witnesses as a “hard landing.”
Operator Tui reported that no injuries have been reported.
Although the situation was “a little bit dramatic,” Malcolm Fell, who was on the aircraft, noted that everyone was “quite calm.”
The pilot placed reverse force on the brakes when the plane dropped down, causing it to aquaplane, he recalled, adding that “it seemed to speed up rather than slow down.”
“Turning to face me, my spouse who was seated behind me said, “I think you better brace yourself because this is not going to stop.”
And then, he claimed, “all of a sudden, we were standing motionless on the grass.”
After the landing, passenger Mr. Fell said that the left side of the aircraft was “covered in mud.”
Not a single person was screaming, acting out, or doing anything of the sort.
“The emergency services came in to make sure the plane was secure before they evacuated us, so it took them about an hour to get us off the plane.”
“Many thanks to the airport – they really worked well to get people off the plane,” he continued.
Video captured the emergency vehicles, including three ambulances, rapidly encircling the aircraft as they attempted to evacuate the passengers.
According to West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, there was no fire and no recorded casualties.
However, all aircraft entering and leaving Leeds Bradford Airport were momentarily suspended, with certain arrivals being rerouted to other airports, such as Manchester.
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