UPDATE – Power cut hits 15,000 households in south-west England
About 15,000 households in south-west England have suffered power cuts because of high winds and stormy weather, engineers say.
Strong winds and heavy rain are spreading across the region once more.
Western Power Distribution said homes from Taunton in Somerset to Penzance in Cornwall were affected, with 10,000 in Cornwall alone experiencing outages.
It added that repair works were being “fully resourced” but bad weather was hampering their efforts.
Penzance, Redruth and Bodmin in Cornwall were particularly affected by outages, Western Power said.
Engineers were to work through the night on repairs, it added.
A flood warning was in place along the south Cornwall coast for high tide on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, the Environment Agency said.
The Met Office has issued a yellow alert for high winds in the South West from 15:00 GMT until 23:00 on Wednesday.
More than 65 reports of fallen trees requiring police to attend were received across Devon and Cornwall in an hour, officers said.
In Looe harbour water was described as swirling “like a cauldron” by a BBC cameraman and the town’s lifeboat station flooded.
The Tamar Bridge between Plymouth in Devon and Saltash in Cornwall was closed to all traffic for a period after wind speeds went over 70mph, police said. It was later just closed to high-sided vehicles.
Cornwall Council’s Silver Command asked drivers not to make unnecessary journeys.
It said it was dealing with a “high number of weather-related emergency call-outs”.
“As well as reports of a number of flooded properties, we are also dealing with trees blocking roads, the shutting of the promenade in Penzance and power lines down.”
Storms have caused more than £4m worth of damage across the county in a month, Cornwall Council has estimated.
Storm Leaves 14,000 Homes Without Power
Three ‘danger to life’ flood warnings are in place for Dorset as high tides and strong winds threaten to overwhelm sea defences
Fourteen thousand homes are without power in southwest England as winds of up to 80mph hit southern areas of the country.
Forecasters have warned that heavy rain and gale force winds could bring travel disruption and flooding to coastal areas over the next few days.
The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning, with southern and western coasts most at risk.
First Great Western Trains has advised passengers not to travel west of Exeter St Davids station because of “major” weather damage.
Southeastern has also imposed a 40mph speed limit on parts of its network from 11pm on Tuesday until Wednesday evening.
Fallen trees, floods and landslips are possible, said the company.
Severe gales and downpours are forecast for Tuesday night and Wednesday, with the heavy rain likely to continue into the weekend in southern areas.
“It will become windy everywhere,” says Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson.
“Eighty-mile-per-hour gusts are possible for areas surrounding the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea and the English Channel.”
The heavy rain is likely to bring more misery to flooded areas of Somerset, which were visited on Tuesday by Prince Charles.
People living in coastal areas are also being warned of possible flooding and are urged to avoid venturing close to the sea.
Will Stephens, RNLI Coastal Safety Staff Officer, said: “With more stormy weather forecast, we’re asking people to take extra care if they’re going down to the coast.
“Rough seas and extreme weather might look exciting, but getting too close can be risky. So respect the water and, in particular, avoid exposed places where big waves could sweep you off your feet.”
The Environment Agency – which has been accused of not doing enough to help Somerset flood victims – has issued 206 ‘be prepared’ flood alerts, more than 100 of those in the southeast.
The agency said on its website: “Today and tomorrow high tides, a positive surge, strong winds and large waves combine to bring a risk of significant impacts from coastal flooding to much of south-west England and southern England coastlines and minor impacts to the west Wales coastline.”
Sixty nine more serious flood warnings are also in place, while ‘danger to life’ warnings cover three areas of the Dorset coast – Weymouth seafront, Lyme Regis harbour and Bridport harbour.
High tide is expected in those areas on Wednesday morning.
Please Donate To Support My Work
Earth Extremities 
Comments