A rescue operation is under way after “scary and unprecedented” flooding near a holiday park in West Sussex.
One person has been taken to hospital and over 200 people have been evacuated after the River Arun burst its banks in the wake of Storm Kathleenand the French-namedStorm Pierrick.
A resident of Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex said flooding in the town was “scary and unprecedented”, after he stayed awake until the early hours putting flood defences around his property.
Gareth Theobald, 36, said: “I was out the front of the building and watching the water just get higher and higher and higher, and then helping or stopping traffic going into the floodwaters and then just watching in disbelief as the whole of Brighton Road and our multimillion-pound development was being engulfed by floodwaters.”
The industrial relations officer added: “The amount of water is scary and unprecedented and those houses opposite our development are lower-ground flats and they were all flooded under a foot or so of water.”
He said he saw cars “driving into the floods at speed as well and getting stuck” and that “residents in the streets (were) trying to do what they can”.
‘Get to higher ground – we are expecting water to rise’
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said on X that they had seen “severe flooding” across West Sussex, in areas like Earnley, Littlehampton and Bracklesham.
They added: “We are expecting the water levels to increase this afternoon. If you are directly affected, please get to higher ground if possible.”
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Around midnight, fire and rescue crews responded to flooding in Littlehampton – where 15 people were evacuated.
They were also dealing with a “severe flooding incident” at Medmerry holiday park between Bracklesham and Selsey, after being first called out at around 1am.
They urged anyone in the vicinity of the holiday park to get to high ground if they can leave their homes.
One resident shot a video of the water surrounding his chalet, saying “everything’s underwater” and describing the area as “totally flooded”.
Paul Maskell, a resident at Medmerry park, added: “I am adrift like Robinson Crusoe. It’s incredible… totally flooded out.”
At least 180 people have been evacuated from the holiday park, with one person showing signs of hypothermia, according to the fire service.
They were taken to hospital and South East Coast Ambulance crews assessed a number of other people.
Then shortly before 7am, crews attended flooding at Bracklesham Caravan and Boat Club and evacuated around 20 people.
West Sussex County Council warned that flooding could worsen throughout the day and the Environment Agency advised people to stay away from “coastal paths, piers and promenades”.
The local council said: “It is also possible that the flooding may increase throughout the day. People directly affected should get to high ground if possible, unless unable to leave their residence. Otherwise, please avoid the areas to allow rescue operations to continue safely and effectively.”
The Environment Agency has said there is a low risk of coastal floodingin the area today, adding it’s likely that high tides or large waves will flood low-lying land and roads.
Weather warnings covering much of country
It comes as heavy rain and strong winds continue to batter parts of southern England, western Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland over the next few days, forecasters have said.
Several services run by South Western Railway and Great Western Railway have been cancelled or delayed this morning due to flooding.
Winds in the southwest of England, including Cornwall and parts of Devon, could reach speeds of up to 65mph along some stretches of the coast.
The forecaster warned the strong gusts had a “small chance” of causing power cuts and damaging buildings.
A yellow weather warning for England’s southern coast, including Southampton and Brighton, says winds are expected to reach 55mph, peaking at 65mph in some areas before easing off.
Another yellow weather warning for Wales’ west coast has been issued between 1am and 3pm on Tuesday, when “a spell of strong winds” will affect the region with gusts reaching up to 65mph overnight.
In Scotland, up to 40mm of rainfall is expected in some areas between 1am and 6pm on Tuesday, while a few could see as much as 60mm.
Affected areas include Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Aberdeen.
Further rainfall is forecast in western Scotland between 9am and 6pm on Wednesday and may cause flooding, with 15 to 25mm of rain expected to fall in most places and 40 to 50mm forecast on high ground.
The weather service warned rain and wind could disrupt rail and road travel across the country, as driving conditions worsen because of slippery road surfaces and limited visibility.
A low-pressure system, bringing the wet and windy weather, has swept in hot on the heels of Storm Kathleen.
Southern parts of the UK are being affected by Storm Pierrick, named by the French meteorological agency.
Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said that while these levels of rainfall would not be a “huge cause for concern” on their own, they will fall on “already saturated ground” which increases the risk of flooding.
“We’ll continue with very unsettled weather as we head into spring, which is usually when we start to see things settle down a little bit more,” he added.
“We’re continuing with one area of low pressure after another, which is mainly down to the fact that the jet stream is a bit further south than it would normally be at this time of year.”
The second half of the week should be a “bit drier” with warm temperatures in the south of the UK, before returning to normal over the weekend, Mr Partridge said.
He said: “It’s actually quite warm conditions for the time of year – we could see 19C or 20C across eastern and southeastern parts of the UK come Thursday and Friday.
Davina McCall has said her short-term memory is “a bit remiss” as she recovers from brain tumour surgery.
Speaking from her bed, the visibly emotional TV presenterposted a short video updating her Instagram followers on her condition, saying it had been a “mad” time.
She expressed an “enormous heartfelt thank you” to people who had messaged her after she revealed this month she had a benign brain tumour, a colloid cyst, which she described as “very rare”.
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Looking bright, but with a visibly bruised left eye, McCall said: “My short-term memory is a bit remiss.
“But that is something I can work on, so I’m really happy about that. I’m writing everything down, to keep myself feeling safe.”
She added: “It’s been mad, and it’s just really nice to be back home, I’m on the other side.”
In a message posted with the video, she reiterated her thanks for all the support she has received, adding: “Had a great night’s sleep in my own bed. Have a couple of sleeps during the day which keeps my brain clear… Slowly, slowly…”
When she first shared her diagnosis, she said chances of having it were “three in a million” and that she had discovered it several months previously after a company offered her a health scan in return for giving a menopause talk.
The 57-year-old star said support from her fans had “meant the world”.
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She said she was being “brilliantly looked after” by her partner, hairdresser Michael Douglas, and her stepmother, Gabby, who she calls mum.
Becoming tearful, the presenter said: “I’d quickly like to say big up the stepmums. I don’t really say thank you to Gabby enough. She’s been an amazing rock my whole life.”
McCall was estranged from her birth mother, Florence McCall, who died in 2008.
With a catch in her voice, McCall went on: “I’ve got a massive dose of vitamin G – I’m just really grateful. I’ve always been really lucky in my life, but I feel unbelievably grateful right now. So, thanks for everything, all of you.
“I’m on the mend, I’m resting and sleeping loads and I feel really good. I’m just very lucky.”
Stars including presenter Alison Hammond, singer Craig David and radio host Zoe Ball quickly shared their delight at the positive update.
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
She’s gone on to present programmes across the networks, the most recent being ITV dating show My Mum, Your Dad.
Last year, McCall was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to broadcasting.
Married twice, McCall has three children, two daughters and a son, with her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson.
She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and they present a weekly lifestyle podcast together, Making The Cut.
In central Scotland, wind speeds of 50-60mph are likely, and gusts up to 70mph could be felt near the coast and on exposed bridges.
Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said that while the risk of snowfall had now diminished, rainfall would “affect much of the UK”.
Frequent showers are expected in Northern Ireland, northern England, Wales and the West Country, with the heaviest expected in southwestern parts of England and South Wales.
Mr Page said weather warnings “could still be amended” and possibly at short notice, and urged people to “keep up to date with the very latest forecast”.
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Sky News meteorologist Christopher England warns there could be a risk of hail and thunder in northern Scotland, at the start of the week.
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Storm Bert causes flooding in Wales
As of Monday morning, there were hundreds of flood warnings and alerts in place. Three of those – two in Wales and one in England – were “severe warnings”.
A further 160 flood warnings and more than 200 flood alerts were issued by the Environment Agency in England, and eight flood warnings and 23 flood alerts in place in Wales at the time of writing.
Bert to clear UK by Tuesday
By Tuesday, Storm Bert will finally clear the UK, the Met Office said, bringing with it “quieter weather for many”.
However, parts of the country may not be without rain or wind for long, as the forecaster says strong gusts and rainfall could start again on Tuesday night and into Wednesday.
“How long the more settled conditions last is uncertain, with rain probably returning to westernmost areas at least by the end of the week,” the Met Office website says.
Chris England adds: “Wednesday will bring strong winds and a spell of heavy rain across the south, while the north looks mostly fine after a frosty and foggy start in places.
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Woman loses umbrella to Storm Bert
“Thursday looks cool again, but mostly fine. Friday will be milder, with outbreaks of rain likely over Ireland, Northern Ireland and north-west Scotland.”
He says going into the weekend, Saturday “looks cloudy and breezy in the north and west, with a little rain possible at times”.
When could the next named storm be?
Storm Bert was the second named storm of the season after Storm Ashley brought similar wet and windy conditions towards the end of October.
Although it cannot be known for sure when the next storm will be, the Met Office already knows it will be referred to as Storm Conall. The forecaster names storms in alphabetical order.
It says it only names a storm when it has the “potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning” and according to its long range forecast, this could be as soon as next month.
It says that between 9 and 23 December, “there are signs” there will be wetter and windier interludes with a risk of snow, adding: “These conditions look more likely to dominate towards the middle of December.”
Whether this will be strong enough for a storm to be named remains unknown.
Microsoft has said it is “investigating an issue” after users reported problems with Outlook and Teams.
In a post on X, Microsoft365 Status said: “We’re investigating an issue impacting users attempting to access Exchange Online or functionality within Microsoft Teams calendar.”
Microsoft Exchange Online is a platform for business communication that has a mail server and cloud apps for email, contacts, and calendars.
Down Detector, a website that tracks outages, said problems started at approximately 8am on Monday morning.
It said 87% of reported problems involved Outlook, when the email application is accessed through the web.
Other reported problems, according to Down Detector, included connection to the server and logging in.
Users from the UK and around, Europe took to social media to report they were having problems accessing the platform.
One user wrote: “When you need to check an important mail, but #outlook decides to not work…”
While another added: “Here in Belgium mainly issues with tracking of e-mail in Dynamics 365. Inbound and outbound in Outlook still work.”
Microsoft directed affected users to its admin centre, a page that is intended for those who have access to business networks and other professionals who manage IT networks. The page requires a login.