Storm Babet latest: Met Office issues red weather warning, flooding in Ireland, UK braces for heavy wind & rain

Around 10,000 homes in Scotland lost power due to the storm, according to the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).

The energy provider said it had restored services to 7,000 homes and engineers were “working to reconnect” around 3,000 more properties.

Mass train cancellations have been imposed by ScotRail, expected to last from Thursday until Saturday.

The storm could bring up to 220mm of rain in some areas of eastern Scotland, an amount close to the highest ever 24-hour total for a “rainfall day”, Met Office figures show.

Some 238mm of rain was measured at Sloy Main Adit in Argyll & Bute between 9am on January 17 1974 and 9am the following day.

The storm is expected to rage overnight and into the weekend, with amber warnings for wind and rain issued for parts of northern England, the Midlands and northern Wales from noon on Friday to 6am on Saturday.

But amber warnings still raise the prospect of injuries and danger to life, power cuts and damage to buildings and flooding.

A yellow warning for Northern Ireland is also in place from 3am on Friday to 9am on Saturday.

A further yellow rain warning covering the north and east of England and north Wales is also in place from midnight on Thursday to 6am on Saturday.

Storm Babet hit Ireland on Wednesday after sweeping in from the Atlantic, bringing with it heavy rainfall and causing extensive flooding in parts of the country.

Members of the Irish Defence Forces were deployed in the town of Midleton, Co Cork, in the south of Ireland, where more than 100 properties were flooded.

Cork County Council said more than a month’s worth of rain had fallen in the space of 24 hours, leading to unprecedented flooding, saturated land and high river levels across the county.

Derbyshire firefighters are calling for people to be prepared and take extra care as the county prepares for the arrival of Storm Babet. 

Significant rainfall is expected from Thursday into Saturday morning, bringing rising river levels, fast flowing water, localised flooding, and surface water on roads across the county. 

An Amber warning is being issued by the Met Office for parts of Derbyshire, meaning there is a risk to life.  

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service Group Manager Rob Leverton said "Storm Babet is expected to bring significant rainfall to parts of Derbyshire from Thursday into Saturday morning.  

“We are calling on members of the community to take extra care and prepare for the impact of the increased rainfall. This is expected to cause localised flooding, high and fast flowing rivers, and surface water across many of Derbyshire’s roads.  

 “I’d strongly encourage everyone to sign up to the Environmental Agencies flood warnings which will allow communities to understand their own local risk and what they can do to prepare for any impact. 

 “I would also like to call on motorists and members of the public to take extra care whether they are on the roads, or out walking over the coming days. Please do not ignore ‘road closed’ signs as these warn of danger, and please drive to the road conditions!  

 “As we head into the weekend and more people go out walking or running, we are also asking people to keep away from fast flowing rivers. Banks and footpaths will be extremely slippery and may have become unstable due to the weather. Walkers should also keep dogs on leads and away from the water’s edge.” 

A woman has died after her body was pulled from a river in Angus where a red weather alert is currently in place. Police Scotland said the body was recovered around 4pm following a report of a person having been swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 1.45pm on Thursday October 19, officers attended a report of a person having been swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk. Around 4pm, the body of a 57-year-old woman was recovered from the river. 

“There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”

Storm Babet, a complex area of low pressure which developed to the west of the Iberian Peninsula, was named by the Met Office on Monday morning. The Met Office subsequently issued a rare red weather alert for parts of the country, warning of a “risk to life”.

The storm could bring up to 220mm of rain in some areas of eastern Scotland, an amount close to the highest ever 24-hour total for a “rainfall day”, Met Office figures show.

Some 238mm of rain was measured at Sloy Main Adit in Argyll & Bute between 9am on January 17 1974 and 9am the following day.

The storm is expected to rage overnight and into the weekend, with amber warnings for wind and rain issued for parts of northern England, the Midlands and northern Wales from noon on Friday to 6am on Saturday.

Sheffield is now seeing flooding - news from our sister title The Star

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A search is underway for a man who is feared trapped in a vehicle in floodwater in Aberdeenshire.

Authorities were made aware of the report at around 3am last night in the village of Marykirk. A coastguard helicopter and coastal rescue teams have been assisting in the search so far.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 3am on Friday October 20 2023, police received a report of a man within a vehicle trapped in floodwater near Marykirk.

“Multi-agency searches are ongoing and the public are asked to avoid the area for their safety.”

The Met Office has extended its red weather warning for north-east Scotland into the weekend.

The original red weather warning was expected to expire early Saturday morning. However, a new 24-hour red warning has now been put in place from midnight Saturday until midnight on Sunday.

It covers areas such as Brechin, Montrose and Laurencekirk.

Read the latest Met Office advice here.

A second person has died in north-east Scotland after a tree fell onto a van in the Angus area, Police Scotland has confirmed.

The driver, 56, was hit by the tree in Forar on the B0127 at Whigstreet. Emergency service arrived at the scene just after 5.05pm yesterday evening.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

It comes after the death of a 57-year-old woman was confirmed. The woman's body was recovered from a river in Angus as the region continues to be battered by Storm Babet's heavy rain and strong winds.

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As stated earlier, the Met Office has extended a red weather warning for rain in the north-east of Scotland as the region continues to be battered by Babet.

The red weather warning is not the only one in place, with areas such as the Midlands also being hit with heavy rain and strong winds.

Find out below which warnings are in place and where through to Saturday evening.

There were dramatic scenes at Leeds Bradford Airport earlier as a plane skidded off the runway while attempting to land in the wild conditions of Storm Babet.

According to our sister title, Yorkshire Evening Post, Fiona Marr, who went to the airport to watch some of the planes land with her nine-year-old son, said that the plane was visibly affected by the winds and “landed almost sideways” at “about 1.40pm”.

Mr Marr said that an alarm went off in the airport and fire crews and what appeared to be ambulances went to the incident. She added that there was no smoke coming from the crash but that other flights that were set to take off had to be halted.

A spokesperson for TUI said: "We are aware of an incident at Leeds Bradford Airport this afternoon, in which upon landing flight TOM3551 slightly veered off while turning into the taxiway. There are no reported injuries, and our ground team are on hand to support passengers as they disembark

A third person has died during Storm Babet, as West Murica police confirmed that a man was pulled from floodwater in Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire earlier today.

The man, in his 60s, was swpet into floodwater after a brook breached a road in the town.

It is the third confirmed death from the conditions caused by Storm Babet. A woman died in the Angus region in Scotland on Thursday, while a man was killed in the area after a tree fell on his van.

READ MORE: Third Storm Babet death confirmed as man dies in Shropshire floods

Emergency crews have had to rescue 20 people from a care home in Derbyshire as cars were submerged in flood water in the county, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue have said.

More than 100 people had to be rescued across the county on Friday and the service declared a major incident due to the impact of Storm Babet.

Clive Stanbrook, area manager at Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service, warned flood waters could continue to rise near Derby and across south Derbyshire on Saturday.

He told BBC Breakfast: “We rescued over 100 people yesterday. For example, just on one road in Chesterfield in the north of the county, we rescued 60 people when that (water level) became up to the top of cars and several HGVs were stuck as well.”

The RSPCA has also volunteered a boat crew in Derbyshire to help rescue animals such as horses and dogs.

Mr Stanbrook warned it will be dangerous travelling in flooded areas on Saturday. He said: “The advice we give today is only travel if absolutely, absolutely necessary. If floodwaters recede, then that’s absolutely great…

“But on the road there is still going to be silt, there is still going to be debris that is going to cause real, real danger to anybody travelling at the moment – no matter what you’re travelling in. No matter what size car or vehicle, please only travel if absolutely necessary.

“Please be careful of riverbanks and canal banks. They are going to be soft. Everything is going to be dangerous today if you’re walking or travelling, so please travel if only absolutely necessary.”

The Met Office are urging people to "stay safe" as a red weather warning remains in place this morning.

Julie Foley, director of flood strategy and adaptation at the Environment Agency, has said “we have over 360 flood warnings and many flood alerts across the country”.

She told BBC One’s Breakfast programme: “I’m really conscious that over the weekend… we’ve got a lot of water now moving through our river catchments, so we’re going to continue to see river levels continuing to rise.

“So it’s really important, actually, that people stay vigilant and they check the status of flood warnings on gov.uk and by doing that you can get the latest information, live information on flood alerts and flood warnings in your area, as well as really practical advice about what to do during and after a flood.”

The Environment Agency has issued a warning not to drive through flood water ....

A second rare red weather warning has been issued for parts of eastern Scotland throughout Saturday.

The Met Office is urging those in the area to “Stay safe and follow the guidance of travel operators and emergency services.”

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf warns: “We have not seen the last of this.”

Storm Babet has caused major transport disruption as heavy rain and strong winds continue to batter the UK. Airports, train stations and ferry ports have all been impacted with some services cancelled due to the ongoing extreme weather.

NationalWorld has the latest traffic and travel updates here.