Heavy rain which caused flooding of homes and chaos on the transport network in Britain has eased, but some communities were last night warned they were still at risk from high river levels.
Communities are still at risk
Some 400 homes and businesses have been flooded since the most intense September storm for 30 years began to batter parts of the UK with downpours and high winds.
Residents of a block of townhouses in Newburn, Newcastle, were among those facing a second night out of their homes after floodwater gouged out the ground beneath the building, which remains cordoned off amid safety concerns.
Businesses were damaged and looters broke into KB Cycles near to the stricken townhouses in Newburn and stole bikes worth tens of thousands of pounds from the shop while roads were blocked by water and silt.
Some areas have seen more than double the average rainfall for the month since Sunday, and although the worst of the rain has now passed, river levels in some places were still rising as the water comes down through the system.
There were still more than 50 flood warnings of river flooding in place yesterday evening, mostly in northern England, and 100 less serious flood alerts.
The Environment Agency said rivers such as the Ouse, which flows through York, and the Dane, which flows through Crewe, Nantwich and Northwich, had yet to peak this afternoon and posed a real risk of flooding.
And other rivers including the Weaver, Wharfe, Aire and Ure were being closely monitored, with high water levels threatening to cause further flooding in places such as Tadcaster.
The North Yorkshire town was split in two by the closure of the bridge which carries the A659 over the River Wharfe as a precaution after firefighters noticed water seeping through the structure.
Water levels need to fall before the bridge can be properly inspected, and the route is not likely to reopen until today atthe earliest.
Another North Yorkshire town, Boroughbridge, was also divided when the bridge over the River Ure was closed due to flooding.
Firefighters had to rescue people from a number of riverside homes in the area.