Two 'severe' flood warnings remain at low tide

Huw Oxburgh
Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted: Friday, January 3, 2014 - 15:21

Only two severe flood warnings remain in place this afternoon in the South West.

The high tide around 8pm tonight is expected to be lower than last night but could still see a  higher than usual flood risk.

However Met Office warnings against severe wind and rain will continue to remain in place through to the evening with a further weather warning for rain issued for Sunday.

The poor weather and flooding is still causing travel disruptions to much of the county today with a lightning and hail storm knocking out several traffic lights and rail signals.

Roads have been also affected by the severe weather with several accidents taking place today due to hazardous driving conditions.

The ambulance service has attended 13 accidents this morning and is urging people to stay aware of the road conditions.

One man has died after his car left the road and collided with trees on the A30 near Two Bridges, Launceston in Cornwall.

The road is remaining closed and Police have said they do not know when it will re-open.

The A380 in Marldon saw a vehicle overturn and causing delays southbound between Preston Downs Roundabout and TweenawayCross.

Cars have also collided on the A35 and on the M5 between Exeter and Cullompton earlier today due to standing water on the roads.

The Esplanade in Exmouth, Wilder Road in Ilfracombe and Ferry Road Topsham are all closed in both directions in places due to the flooding

The A379, the A385 and the A386 are open but are should be approached with care also due to flooding on the road.

Exmouth seafront remains closed as the weather continues to pose a risk to the public.

First Great Western are advising their passengers not to travel unless it is essential to do so.

Signalling problems near Liskeard and also at Totnes are also causing disruption between Penzance and Newton Abbot.

Trains are currently unable to run between Penzance and Plymouth, while trains between Plymouth and Exeter St Davids may be delayed by up to 60 minutes.

The Exeter to Barnstaple service is also seeing delays of up to 30 minutes due to flooding.

Emergency services are urging people to be careful driving in standing water as several people have had to be rescued from cars stranded in flood water.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "I'm ensuring that all is being done to help with the floods. There'll be a Cobra meeting shortly and regular updates from @EnvAgency."

Meanwhile the Environment Agency has confirmed that it will be cutting over 1,500 jobs including those working in flood protection.

The jobs will be cut as part of the government’s austerity cuts but it is not yet clear how many flood related jobs will be cut.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman said the agency was making its own choices about "how best to use their resources".

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