Major incident declared as Storm Chandra brings flooding
Somerset Council said on Tuesday evening that an estimated 50 properties have been affected by flooding.
A major incident has been declared in Somerset after Storm Chandra brought heavy rain and flooding.
Somerset Council said there had been “extensive flooding overnight” and the risk of flooding on the Somerset Levels and Moors “remains high as rainwater moves through the system”.
As of Tuesday evening, there were 95 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, and 257 flood alerts, where it is possible, across England.
In Wales, there were three flood warnings and 17 flood alerts in place, while there were eight flood warnings and eight flood alerts in place across Scotland.
Somerset Council said on Tuesday evening that an estimated 50 properties have been affected by flooding across Ilminster, West Coker, Taunton, Mudford and West Camel.
Council leader Bill Revans said: “The decision to declare a major incident at this stage means we are well placed to respond to this ongoing situation.
“Storm Chandra brought more than 50mm of rain to parts of Somerset last night, on top of already saturated land, and this has caused widespread disruption.
“We know many communities have been impacted and our thoughts go to all those experiencing flooding.
“We’ve had teams working through the night and we are continuing to respond to many reports of roads which remain impassable.
“Please avoid travelling if you can and never attempt to drive through flood water.
“The weather forecast remains challenging so we will be working with colleagues in the emergency services to ensure we are prepared should the situation continue to deteriorate.”
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.
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.
Storm Chandra also brought disruption to other parts of the South West, the south coast, and north of England, as well as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Domestic flights were cancelled on routes serving Birmingham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heathrow, Leeds Bradford, London City, Manchester and Southampton airports on Tuesday.
Yellow weather warnings have been issued for ice on Wednesday morning covering much of England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and southern and central Scotland.
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.
