Homes Evacuated As Storm Franklin Prompts Flood Warnings Across The UK
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Hundreds of homes have been evacuated with more than 150 flood warnings in place across the UK as Storm Franklin threatens 'severe disruption'.
The latest storm to approach the UK is bringing heavy rain and high winds, leading the Met Office to issue a weather warning for wind covering Wales, Northern Ireland, most of England and parts of Scotland.
The weather warning is set to remain in place until 1.00pm today, February 21, with an earlier amber warning for wind in place in Northern Ireland having expired this morning.
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Flooding has already been seen in parts of the country, most notably in south Manchester, where around 400 homes were evacuated after the Environment Agency warning flooding could result in a danger to life.
In North Yorkshire, fire crews were called to rescue residents at a caravan park in Knaresborough, as water swept through the site, while in Northern Ireland heavy rain has also caused severe flooding in County Londonderry and County Tyrone.
Several towns around England and Wales have been putting up flood barriers in an effort to protect homes from rivers threatening to burst their banks.
In the south of England, Gatwick Airport confirmed that the poor conditions had knocked out runway lights, though in a statement the airport said the malfunction did not impact flights, some of which have already been cancelled or delayed by the storm.
Rail companies across the country have also urged people not to travel, warning that the storm will likely cause major disruption across the network.
'Storms over the past week will have tested the infrastructure and with Storm Franklin today, we will have severe disruption across our network,' CrossCountry trains said in a message to passengers.
The arrival of Storm Franklin comes as much of the country is still recovering from the impact of Storm Eunice, which brought record-breaking winds to the south of England and London and killed three people.
More than 1.4 million homes lost power as a result of Friday's storm, with 56,000 homes across the south of England still waiting to be reconnected, BBC News reports.
With Storm Dudley also having hit the UK last week, the Met Office confirmed it is the first time since the modern storm naming system was introduced seven years ago that three major storms were recorded in the UK in the space of one week.
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