THINGS CAN ONLY GET WETTER
UK weather sparks warnings to ‘evacuate now’ despite dangerous roads as Storm Emma brings deadly flooding and freezing rain
FAMILIES have been told by police and coastguard officials to evacuate their homes as Britain braces for intense flooding during the Storm Emma rampage - as the death toll rises to 16.
A hazardous mix of melting snow, high tides and heavy rainfall prompted 15 alerts from Sunderland to Cornwall - with 51 areas facing flooding.
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In Beesands, a small coastal village in Devon, Coastguard, Fire and Police workers helped evacuate residents from their homes.
And in a statement the emergency services later said: "If you are willing and able to voluntarily leave then please do so.
"Please let us know that you are evacuating by calling 101 and updating Log 370".
The Environment Agency also declared residents should take immediate action and also warned people in another 36 areas from Hartlepool to Poole in Dorset to be ready for problems.
What we know so far:
- Thousands of commuters were left stranded at rail stations across the country last night
- Looters targeted a storm-damaged Lidl store in Dublin - even ripping its roof off to get to the safe
- Cops launched a hunt for a teen last seen wandering around Manchester city centre at 5am in sub-zero temperatures
- 16 people including a seven-year-old girl have now died in the wintry conditions
- Some rail passengers jumped onto the tracks after their train became stranded in Lewisham yesterday evening
- A completely frozen car was pictured in north London after a water pipe burst and an incredible video of a man jumping onto a snow-covered trampoline went viral
- The military has been pulled in to help clear traffic after hundreds of drivers were stranded overnight on Britain's roads
- In a bizarre phenomenon freezing rain was pictured turning the nation's roads into ice rinks
- More than 40 cars were involved in a pile-up on the A38 in Devon
- A pensioner couple and their two dogs have been rescued after becoming trapped by 12ft snow drifts
- A number of councils and police forces have declared major incidents in the freezing conditions
- Motorists have been evacuated from the Isle of Wight by helicopter as the roads have become too dangerous to use
- Football matches have been
- At least 9,000 were left without electricity in the north of the country as power supplies suffer in the chill
- Hundreds of flights in and out of UK and Irish airports were cancelled
- We told how a heroic bus driver managed to avoid disaster by swerving her bus around an out of control car on the snow
- Travellers were forced to huddle under blankets and makeshift shelters on stranded trains, cars and at airports overnight
- Many Brits have seen non-urgent ops postponed due to staff shortages and a lack of beds in some hospitals, as NHS bosses warn of the 'perfect storm' of the storm, norovirus and flu
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Treacherous driving conditions have also seen cops call on the help of the military in helping evacuate motorists from the roads.
The combination of Storm Emma and the Beast from the East has paralysed the UK this week, causing commuter chaos and closing schools throughout the country.
Floods caused by dangerous tides and thawing snow engulfed homes in Lizard and Porthallow in Cornwall.
Coastal areas of Devon also suffered as huge waves and strong winds buffeted towns including Paignton.
Who has died in the treacherous weather battering Britain?
- A 52-year-old homeless man, known as Ben, was found dead in a tent in Retford, Lincolnshire, on Tuesday as the Beast of the East saw temperatures plummet
- Three women died on Tuesday when a Renault Clio collided with a Scania lorry on the A15 in Baston just after 6.15am
- Hours later a man was killed in a three-vehicle smash on the A47 near Peterborough
- Stephen Cavanagh, 60, died on Wednesday after falling through a frozen lake in Welling, south east London
- A 46-year-old man died in a crash on the A34 in Hampshire on Thursday
- The body of a 75-year-old woman was found underneath a car near her home in Leeds on Thursday
- Elaine McNeill, a care worker, was found dead in the snow on Thursday in Galsgow after she failed to turn up for work
- A seven-year-old girl died in a car crash in the Cornish port of Looe
- The weather claimed four more victims yesterday as sub-zero temperatures killed two men in Kent, one in Devon, and another in East Lothian
- A man also died on Thursday, suffering a heart attack as he helped a fellow motorist free his car from the snow
- A teenager has also been found in a Manchester canal after failing to return home from a nightclub amid stormy conditions
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The new nightmare came as the brutal weather claimed more victims.
Thursday alone had seen ten deaths, including a girl aged seven, on the coldest March day on record.
A homeless man in Canterbury, Kent, was one of the four who died yesterday. The 40-year-old was discovered in his sleeping bag at the Catching Lives shelter, which took in several rough sleepers.
Today, in East Grinstead, Sussex, firefighters had to go and rescue two boys who walked across a frozen pond and became stuck.
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Astonishing videos from across UK as we fight through snow and severe weather from Storm Emma and Beast from the East
A 70-year-old man died after being rescued from cliffs in Torquay, Devon.
A search was launched at Babbacombe after he failed to return home following heavy snow showers.
He was located by rescuers and airlifted to Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital by coastguard helicopter.
In Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, paramedics battled to save the life of a man who collapsed on a pavement.
He had been spotted by an ambulance crew lying on the snow.
Lethal rain
FREEZING rain could turn roads into icy death traps, motorists were warned.
The rare phenomenon occurs when snow, ice, sleet or hail passes through warm air before cooling again closer to the ground, freezing on impact.
The RAC said: "Freezing rain represents one of the greatest challenges any driver could face.
"Roads may look clear and safe despite being potentially icy death traps."
In Haddington, East Lothian, a young man collapsed crossing a bridge. Locals rushed over to help and tried to resuscitated him but said he turned blue.
Police and paramedics attended the scene and tried to help the man for around an hour.
He was given oxygen in an ambulance and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary but died later.
More than 100 troops braved blizzards to ensure vital NHS staff got to hospitals. Soldiers, RAF air crew and Royal Marines were deployed across the country in all-terrain 4x4s to ferry staff to work and carry out visits in communities.
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Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson met troops from 1 Royal Irish as they helped out in the Shropshire area.
He said: “Our Armed Forces are doing an incredible job up and down the country, helping the emergency services, local authorities, and the NHS supporting those in need.
“From Scotland to Cornwall, more than 100 personnel from across the forces are making a real difference in getting nurse and doctors to vulnerable and elderly patients, and helping rescue those left stranded in freezing conditions.”
Helpful heroes
Theresa May has heaped praise on hard working troops and emergency workers battling Britain’s snow crisis.
The PM also hailed exhausted nurses and volunteers’ enduring efforts to help freezing victims as “a special part of who we are as a country”.
Before delivering a key speech on Brexit, Mrs May told a Mansion House audience: “In the midst of the bad weather, I would just like to take a moment before I begin my speech today to thank everyone in our country who is going the extra mile to help people at this time.
“I think of our emergency services and armed forces working to keep people safe; our NHS staff, care workers, and all those keeping our public services going; and the many volunteers who are giving their time to help those in need.”
The PM added: “Your contribution is a special part of who we are as a country – and it is all the more appreciated at a moment like this”.
Step-by-step instructions how to build a snowman, as the Beast From The East weather brings snow to the UK
Officials at the MoD also said troops had been volunteering their own time to help those in need.
So far 20 RAF personnel and ten 4x4 RAF vehicles were driving nurses and doctors to hospitals and communities in Lincolnshire.
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Another 20 soldiers in a fleet of 4x4s were doing the same job for NHS Scotland staff in Edinburgh.
Royal Marines stepped in across Devon and Cornwall and troops helped Greater Manchester Police to get to motorists stuck on the M62.
Meanwhile, National Grid withdrew its gas deficit warning following panic on Thursday.
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