Waves break over Porthcawl harbour, south Wales, as the region continued to be battered by high winds and heavy rain yesterday. Photo: PA WireWaves break over Porthcawl harbour, south Wales, as the region continued to be battered by high winds and heavy rain yesterday. Photo: PA Wire

High winds and heavy rain are piling more flood misery and travel disruption on to parts of the UK.

The Thames is predicted to rise to its highest level in more than 60 years in some places, while the Met Office yesterday issued a “red” weather warning for exceptionally strong winds in western parts of Wales and north western parts of England.

Winds of 80mph are expected widely in those areas and gusts could reach up to 100mph in the most exposed locations in west and north west Wales, potentially hitting power supplies, bringing down trees and causing widespread damage. Coastal areas could also be battered by large waves, the Met Office said.

Gusts of 92mph have already been recorded in the Mumbles on the Gower Peninsula, south west Wales, and the south coast of the Irish Republic has been battered by winds of 96mph.

The Met Office has forecast 70mm of rain by tomorrow in the already-sodden West Country – more than the region would normally get in the whole of February – with south Wales, western Scotland, Northern Ireland and other parts of southern England also expected to bear the brunt of the deluge. Windsor, Maidenhead and communities in Surrey have been warned to expect severe disruption and risk of flooding. There are 14 severe flood warnings – meaning there is a danger to life – in the Thames Valley.

It was the highest rainfall in January since 1776

Around 50 homes flooded overnight in the area, bringing the total number of homes flooded across the country since late January to 1,135. Some 5,800 properties have flooded since early December when the series of winter storms began. Another two severe flood warnings remain in place in Somerset, while the Environment Agency has 129 flood warnings and more than 200 less serious flood alerts in force across England and Wales.

The west coast main line closed between Preston and Lancaster for a couple of hours at around 7pm yesterday because of high winds, Network Rail said.

From 4pm there were speed restrictions in place on various rail routes in north west England, with passengers told to expect journey times to be extended by up to 60 minutes. There were no East Midlands trains running between Manchester Oxford Road and Liverpool Lime Street.

Toby Willison, programme director, Environment Agency, said a number of rivers in the south east and south west, including areas of the Thames, were at their highest ever recorded levels.

“This is an exceptional event. It was the highest rainfall in January since 1776 and we think it is likely December, January and February will be the highest for 250 years,” he said.

Surrey Police said around 1,000 homes in their area had been affected by flooding, with 600 people evacuated.

“Latest forecasts indicate more rain is expected and water levels will continue to fluctuate over the coming days and into next week,” a spokesman said.

With more rainfall forecast for today and tomorrow, the threat of flooding is likely to increase of over the next few days, with communities along the Thames in Oxfordshire, West Berkshire and Reading, and along the Severn in Worcestershire also at an increased risk.

Coastal flooding could hit north west coasts and the Dorset coast, while the threat of groundwater flooding continued in Hampshire, Kent and parts of London, the Environment Agency said.

Its staff were withdrawn from the flood-hit Wraysbury area following abuse by local people on Monday, but Mr Willison insisted the agency had people back on the ground and said the response was a “real team effort”.

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