London: Storm Bram swept across the UK and Ireland with powerful winds and relentless rain, leaving thousands of homes without electricity and causing severe disruption to transport networks on land, air, and sea.
By Tuesday night, more than 300 flood warnings and alerts were in force across the UK as weather conditions forced the cancellation of sporting events, Christmas activities, and public gatherings.
Large waves hammered coastlines, and several regions saw two weeks’ worth of rain fall in just over a day. The Met Office said White Barrow on Dartmoor recorded 11.2cm of rain in 24 hours, while Princetown saw nearly 8cm, close to half of its monthly average. Parts of South Wales were hit hard too, with Treherbert receiving more than 8cm of rainfall. Wind gusts of 83mph were reported in Capel Curig and Aberdaron in north Wales.
Amber weather alerts for heavy rain and strong winds remained in place in north-west Scotland and Northern Ireland into Tuesday night. Yellow warnings for wind are expected to continue in parts of Scotland on Wednesday, although conditions elsewhere began to stabilise.
Emergency services responded to several dangerous incidents. A driver was pulled from her car after it was washed nearly 40 metres downstream near Ringwood in Hampshire. Four people were rescued from vehicles trapped on a flooded road in Thornford, Dorset. Firefighters in Devon helped two people stranded on the roof of their car after rising water cut them off in Teigngrace near Newton Abbot.
Major delays occurred on the Severn crossings between south-west England and south Wales, where concerns over the stability of lighting columns on the Prince of Wales Bridge forced authorities to restrict traffic to one lane in each direction.
Rail travel was heavily disrupted. Great Western Railway reported widespread cancellations, delays, and diversions across routes linking London with Wales and the south-west. In Cornwall, the rail line between Par and Newquay was closed, and flooding in a tunnel near Totnes halted services in Devon. In Greater Manchester, part of the M66 was shut following flooding and a multi-vehicle crash.
Transport for Wales and Network Rail Scotland closed several rail lines due to rising water. Ferry operator CalMac said all its west coast routes faced cancellations or delays. Dozens of flights at Belfast and Dublin airports were cancelled, while Belfast’s Christmas market and the causeway to St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall were also closed. Among the sports events affected was Port Vale’s League One match against Bradford, which was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.
The storm left thousands of homes in the Midlands, south-west England, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland without power as overloaded grids struggled under the strain.
Experts warned that extreme rainfall is increasing in both intensity and frequency as a result of climate change, particularly in Europe and other regions where warmer air can hold more moisture. Although defences and land-use planning also play a role, heavy rain is now more likely to trigger widespread flooding in vulnerable areas.
