UK weather: ‘Danger to life’ red warning hits TODAY as Storm Babet leaves cars washed away in floods & towns ‘cut off’
BRITS have been issued a ‘danger to life’ red warning today with cars washed away in floods and towns potentially cut off for days.
Storm Babet continues to wreak havoc with extreme weather conditions buffeting the nation.
Now, the Met Office has issued a rare red rain warning for parts of north-east Scotland, with residents being warned severe conditions will pose a danger to life.
Laurencekirk, Montrose and Forfar are among the towns covered by the alert.
It comes into effect at 6pm today and is due to last until 12pm on Friday.
Some locations are likely to see between 20-25cm (8 to 10 inches) of rainfall.
Extensive flooding, road closures, loss of power and collapsing buildings should all be expected by communities in the area, warns the forecaster.
Some towns may be completely cut off, the weather agency says, “perhaps for several days”.
Commuters have been urged to not travel unless absolutely necessary and residents should stay indoors to stay safe.
It marks the first time a red warning for rain has been issued in the UK since Storm Dennis in February 2020.
Meanwhile, amber and yellow warnings for wind and rain cover other parts of the UK.
The storm is currently hitting Ireland, with the army deployed to a town where more than 100 properties were flooded.
It comes as shocking footage emerged of extreme floods wreaking havoc across Ireland as a car was swept away down a road in Co Cork.
Onlookers were left helpless as the small red car was swept up in the water, which had consumed the entire streets of Midleton.
The footage shows the vehicle being carried at speed in the currents as members of the fire brigade, along with other emergency personnel, worked to get people out of the way.
People could be seen wading through the water, carrying children to safety in their arms and placing them on raised walls as the flood gushed by.
Shocking images have also emerged of flooding on the inside of Midleton Hospital, which has suffered significant damage.
More footage showed a local Supervalu store “absolutely destroyed” after water consumed the shop and groceries floated to the surface.
The town has also been badly affected by power outages, with the ESB confirming that almost 1,000 properties are without electricity.
Meanwhile, coastal towns in the West Country have been bombarded by waves as high as 15ft, bringing four foot deep sea foam, according to witnesses.
Local resident Gillian Burgess told DevonLive: “The waves are breaching the seawall. Some are going at least 15ft higher from the railway track.
“The sea foam is quite incredible and must be at least four feet deep.”
As the rain moves northwards, it will stall across central and eastern parts of Scotland where the rain will become heavy and persistent from Thursday through to Saturday.
There is an amber severe weather warning for rain for this area, meaning exceptionally wet conditions are likely.
Up to 150 to 200mm of rain could accumulate in some areas of higher ground.
Some schools will close due to Storm Babet, with local authorities working to “preserve life”.
Angus Council said the severe weather warnings were “unprecedented”, and schools would be closing at lunchtime on Thursday, and all day Friday.
The council said Sepa advised that the North and South Esk River were at greatest risk of flooding and sand bags were being distributed, with flood prevention schemes utilised in Brechin and Arbroath.
Many of the affected areas across Scotland are still saturated by heavy rain that caused flooding earlier this month.