The Met Office has issued advice to households which may be at risk of flooding this weekend, after issuing an amber warning and several yellow alerts for heavy rain in areas across the country. The national weather agency said those who could be vulnerable to a deluge caused by torrential rain could prepare a “flood kit” to protect against “loss or damage due to flooding to your home or business”.
Flooding and travel disruption could happen between Saturday and Monday – with parts of western Scotland and north-west England, as well as Northern Ireland and Wales, due to experience “heavy and persistent rain”. The washout will likely lead to power cuts, floodwater, and travel delays, the forecaster warned.
Yellow weather warnings are in place from late Saturday afternoon, with more than 100mm of rainfall possible. From Sunday morning and well into Monday afternoon, Cumbria will be under an amber weather warning lasting 36 hours. Rain is due to develop across western Scotland by late Saturday morning and gusts of 60-70mph are possible along coastal areas. Weather warnings have also been issued for north Wales, north-westerly parts of England, western Scotland and Northern Ireland on Sunday.
Scroll down for information on preparing for flooding, according to the Met Office…
4. Prepare a flood kit
Think about putting together an emergency flood kit with essential items that will help you cope in a flood, including:
- Insurance documents and list of contact numbers
- Torch & spare batteries
- First aid kit and any prescription medicines
- Warm waterproof clothes and blankets
- Bottled water and snacks
- Battery or wind-up radio
- Supplies for looking after your baby or pet
- Make sure that everyone knows where to find this kit and what to do if flooding happens.
5. Flood protection equipment
Think about making your property resilient to flooding. To reduce flood damage, you could lay tiles instead of carpets, move electrical sockets up the wall and fit non-return valves. If you know you live in an area at risk of flooding, you could consider installing some flood protection products:
- Floodboards – can be fixed to your doors and windows
- Plastic covers to seal airbricks
- Sandbags
This Evening and Tonight:
Cloud and rain in the southeast dispersing, leaving a clear night for most people with patchy fog and frost across southern England and Wales. Showers drifting into the northwest, accompanied by gusty winds and possibly thunder.
Saturday:
Persistent, heavy rain moving into the northwest throughout Saturday along with coastal gales, locally severe. Dry and sunny further southeast with lighter winds, though a fresher day than of late.
Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:
Heavy rain continuing in the northwest on Sunday; drier in the southeast, but cloudier and more blustery than Saturday. Rain slowly pushing southeastwards to start next week with showers following.
