Two severe flood warnings in place as Storm Chandra brings disruption

Two severe flood warnings – meaning danger to life – have been issued as Storm Chandra brings heavy rain and strong winds to the UK.

The first warning was put in place at Ottery St Mary in Devon at 5.49am on Tuesday, with the Environment Agency stating that floodwater was expected to be “deep and fast flowing”.

Data confirmed the River Otter at Fenny Bridges, close to the town, reached its highest recorded level and surpassed the previous record set in December 2000.

Levels reached 2.81m on December 7 that year but were at 2.83m at 5.45am on Tuesday.

The second warning, affecting the Upper Frome at Dorchester in Dorset, was issued on Tuesday afternoon.

River levels at Stinsford were at 1.22m and rising by 2pm, which again exceeded the highest reading at the measuring station, which was 1.2m in July 2012.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 112 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, and 237 flood alerts, where it is possible, across England.

In Wales, there were six flood warnings and 17 flood alerts in place, while there were two flood warnings and eight flood alerts in place across Scotland.

Images taken by Press Association photographers across the UK and Ireland showed search and rescue workers in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, vehicles on flooded roads in Kent and snowfall in Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham.

Richard Foord, Liberal Democrat MP for Honiton and Sidmouth, described the night as “truly horrendous” and urged residents to heed the warnings.

“The River Otter has reached its highest recorded ever level. The Environment Agency has issued a severe flood warning on the River Otter, meaning possible danger to life,” he said.

Mr Foord said there were reports of around 20 flooded properties across Devon and Cornwall, with the number expected to increase as river levels peak and further reports are received.

He added: “I want to pay tribute to staff from the Environment Agency, Devon County Council, East Devon District Council, who have been out in risky conditions to help keep residents safe.

“Also to emergency services personnel who have been rescuing people from floodwater.”

Jackie Blackford, who lives in Ottery St Mary, told BBC Radio Devon that she could see the River Otter from her home.

She said: “I live on a hill overlooking part of the Otter and it’s normally quite a nice little river.

“At the moment, it’s a raging torrent. It is horrendous – I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Ms Blackford said there had been a lot of traffic trying to get out of Ottery St Mary and she had seen people turning around.

Devon and Cornwall Police said there was “significant surface water and areas of flooding across parts of the force” area and warned motorists in Exeter, East and Mid Devon not to travel.

“We are experiencing an increase in reports of people coming up against floodwater,” a spokesperson said.

“Please do not attempt to drive through it. The weather is improving but rivers are still responding to earlier heavy rainfall.”

Firefighters in Devon and Somerset rescued people from 25 vehicles in floodwater on Tuesday morning.

A spokesman for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service confirmed there were no casualties.

Axminster Fire Station posted images of multiple vehicles in floodwater on Facebook.

In Devon there were 47 schools closed, while more than 300 were shut in Northern Ireland.

Across south-west England there were multiple road closures because of flooding, which included the A30 in Devon between the B3174/B3180 junctions near Ottery St Mary and the B3184 for Exeter Airport.

The A303 is closed between the A30 at Upottery in Devon and the A358 at Horton Cross, Somerset.

Storm Chandra was also bringing disruption to other parts of the south west, the south coast, and north of England, as well as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In Dorset, the A35 is closed in both directions between the A352 Max Gate junction and the B3150 Stinsford roundabout near Dorchester.

In the north of England, National Highways said the A66 was closed between the A67 near Bowes in County Durham and the A685 near Brough in Cumbria because of snow.

Drivers travelling across the Pennines are advised to “plan ahead and consider alternate routes”.

Domestic flights were cancelled on routes serving Birmingham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heathrow, Leeds Bradford, London City, Manchester and Southampton airports on Tuesday.

On the rail network, National Rail Enquiries said a number of railway lines are closed because of flooding in Cornwall, Somerset, Hampshire and Devon.

Transport for Wales said a tree is blocking the railway at Llanbister Road station near Llangunllo in Powys, meaning there are no services between Swansea and Shrewsbury.

The Humber Bridge was shut to high-sided vehicles due to wind, but the M48 Severn Bridge has reopened.

Football matches have been postponed, including Torquay United’s home game against Farnborough due to the pitch being unplayable from the heavy rain.

Several weather warnings were in force on Tuesday, including amber warnings for south-west England and the eastern coast of Northern Ireland for rain and wind respectively.

Yellow warnings were also issued for ice on Wednesday, covering much of England and Northern Ireland.

A yellow weather warning for rain is also in place for south-west England on Thursday, with the Met Office saying that further rain could bring more flooding and transport disruption.

Storm Chandra is the latest storm to be named by the western Europe storm naming group list shared between the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.