Storm Babet – live: Met Office ice warnings issued; as flooding could last days

Those worst affected by the flooding caused by Storm Babet could see “a couple of quieter days”, the Met Office has said.

More settled weather on Monday could allow some respite and a chance for recovery, according to Met Office spokesperson Dave Britton.

He added: “There is this pulse of rain moving its way north overnight later on Monday and into Tuesday, but the rest of the week does look like it remains rather unsettled with spells of rain at times.”

Paul Gilbert, who found his 80-year-old mother’s body after her home in Derbyshire was hit by flooding, told Sky News: “Nothing ever seems to get done. We are building more and more houses.

“The country can’t take the amount of water that comes down. We should be able to survive for 24 hours of rain. It shouldn’t get ever this bad.

“The rivers should be clean, they should be dredged, they should be widened, they should be cleaned out.

“It is an unfortunate thing, it might only be the one person that it’s happened to.”

He added: “Yes, fire and rescue might have been able to do a bit more but if she was already gone she was already gone. There is nothing else.

“But for me to have to come and find her myself was more the upsetting thing for me. I didn’t want to find my own mum.”

Angus Council said it has had an “overwhelming” response to an appeal for accommodation for people unable to return to their properties because of the damage caused by the floods brought by Storm Babet.

A call for clothing and toiletries for those affected by the floods also led to hundreds of donations, said the local authority, which was subject to two rare “red alerts” for rain this week – the first to be issued by the Met Office since Storm Dennis in 2020.

Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf will visit Brechin on Monday to see where the River South Esk burst its banks and flooded dozens of homes last week during Storm Babet.

Residents living on River Street were first alerted to the danger of the body of water overtopping local flood defences on Thursday as heavy downpours caused levels to rise rapidly.

In the early hours of Friday, emergency services stepped up efforts to move people out of their properties as water started to spill over the sides of the defences and engulf the street.

Respite centres were set up in the town for individuals and families forced to leave their homes and residents only started returning in large numbers on Sunday to assess the damage done.

Mr Yousaf is expected to meet residents impacted by the flooding during his visit and thank volunteers, local authority staff and emergency service personnel who played a part in the evacuation.

There could be more flooding in the coming days as stricken households try to make their homes safe again, the Environment Agency has warned.

The agency said more flood warnings are expected for some of the worst affected areas into next week – despite severe flood warnings, meaning risk of death or serious injury, being lifted.

Around 1,250 properties in England have been flooded and an estimated 30,000 properties have been protected, it said.

A yellow ice warning is in force across parts of Scotland and the far north of England until 9am on Monday morning, the Met Office has said.

The recent wet weather and the cold night tonight may allow some icy stretches to form on untreated surfaces, the forecaster said.

The family of Wendy Taylor, who died after being swept into a river during Storm Babet, have paid tribute to the 57-year-old as their “ray of sunshine”.

Travel chaos caused by Storm Babet continues with major disruption on the railways and warnings not to travel on large parts of the network.

Seven people have died after days of heavy rain sparked flooding, cutting off towns and villages and trapping people in their homes. Thousands of households have been hit by power cuts and the Environment Agency warned flooding could last for days, with hundreds of alerts still in place.