Storm Bert latest updates: Man dies and thousands still hit by power cuts as ‘worst weather yet to come’ – UK Times

Storm Bert battered the UK and Ireland with snow, rain and strong winds on Saturday, closing several railway lines, bridges and roads.

Snow covered roads and stranded cars in parts of the northern UK, while the runway at the Newcastle airport in northeast England was blanketed in white, briefly disrupting flights.

In Scotland, some train services were suspended due to the weather, ScotRail said on X. The Severn Bridge, which connects Wales to England, was shut due to strong winds, the National Highways website showed.

In Ireland, the heavy rain led to flooding in parts of the west coast, making some roads impassable. The Irish Meteorological Service placed a “status red” rain warning – its highest level – for the counties of Cork and Galway from Friday night. Floodwater could be seen rising towards the top of parked cars in the Donegal town of Killybegs.

Clean-up operations are under way after Storm Bert swept across the island of Ireland, causing flooding and thousands of power outages.

Power cuts affected 60,000 customers at the height of the outage; ESB teams are still working to restore supplies to the thousands still left without electricity.

Status red rain warnings were in place for Cork and Galway until 10am on Saturday, with an orange alert for rain in place for counties Waterford, Kerry, Clare, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim.

As the Met Office issues a flurry of weather warnings over the weekend, what can we do to prepare and protect ourselves, and our homes, from these turbulent conditions?

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has issued a series of flood warnings and alerts across the country, as bridges are shut and roads closed. Over the weekend, Wales is expected to face up to 75mm of rain widely, with 150 mm possible in some areas.

NRW has issued flood warnings – where flooding is expected, and immediate action is required – on five stretches of river. It has also issued alerts – where flooding is possible – for more than 30 areas across Wales.

Warnings are in place around:

• River Loughor at Ammanford and Llandybie impacting low-lying property in Ammanford, Llandybie and Aberlash, including Carmarthenshire College
• River Severn, affecting the village of Aberbechan
• River Severn, affecting parts of the village of Abermule
• River Cothi in low lying areas between Pontargothi and Pontynyswen, including the Cothi Bridge Hotel
• River Towy, affecting isolated properties, as well as farms and roads, between Llandeilo and Abbergwili

The strongest gust recorded by the Met Office on Saturday afternoon was 82mph at Capel Curig in Conwy, north Wales, with winds of 70mph expected around coastal areas.

The Needles on the Isle of Wight saw gusts of 76mph, while winds reached 69mph at Devon’s Berry Head.

Holidaymakers at Newcastle International Airport said the runway was “decimated” by snow as Storm Bert batters the country with strong winds, heavy rain and snow and ice.

Frequent travellers Tim Harding, 53, and his wife, Chona, 58, were due to fly at 9.15am with Dutch airline KLM to Amsterdam from Newcastle before flying with Delta airlines to Orlando, Florida, to meet their family in the US for Thanksgiving.

Mr Harding said: “Going to the airport… it was sleeting all the way through then all of a sudden it started coming down.

“There were about four or five snow ploughs on the runway and they just couldn’t clear it. It was windy and it was literally coming down really quick, so hard. In the space of two hours, it went from nothing to decimated.

“The gritters were out continuously, the ploughs were out continuously, but it just wasn’t having an impact unfortunately. I was surprised how quickly it came down and how much came down in a two-hour period. I haven’t seen that for a long time.”

The Met Office forecasts heavy rain developing overnight and into Sunday for south-west and southern England, stretching from Oxford to Truro.

There is a chance that some places over Dartmoor could see 100-150mm of rainfall, the national weather service said.

A yellow warning is in place from 6am on Saturday until 11.45pm on Sunday and up to 70mm of rain could fall during this time.

Homeowners are facing flooding as Storm Bert continues to batter Wales, bringing rain, winds and rising waters.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has issued a series of flood warnings and alerts across the country, as bridges are shut and roads closed.

Five adults and five children had to be rescued from a house in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, near Llangollen in north Wales, following a landslide.

Five children are among the 10 people who have been rescued from a home in north Wales following a landslide.

The five adults and five children were rescued from the house in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, near Llangollen.

A North Wales Fire and Rescue Services spokesman said they are all being assessed by ambulance services away from the scene “somewhere warm”.

A further landslide has been reported in the area but it is understood no-one else was affected.