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Storm Babet is set to wreak havoc on the UK and a town has already been evacuated with flooding and winds of up to 70mph expected.
Residents were shifted from their homes in town of Brechin, leaving a total of 360 properties empty in north east Scotland. Flood warnings were in place and an extremely rare "danger to life" red warning is in effect, the Met Office confirmed.
From midday on Friday harsh winds and a month's worth of rainfall is expected to hit the worst-affected regions. A red warning is in place on parts of the country from 6pm today.
READ MORE: Exact date Storm Babet will stop for snowstorms as trains cancelled and cars destroyed
For the latest weather updates across the country, click here.
Forecasters initially tipped the east of Scotland to be the hardest hit in the UK, with "exceptionally heavy and persistent rain" expected. This warning was then extended to include parts of Dundee and even western Tayside.
Emergency rest centres are being set up for residents removed from their homes, with those needing to use the shelters asked to bring sleeping bags and supplies such as medication.
Council workers confirmed it had a limited supply of sandbags in place to help protect buildings. A projected £16.3million was spent on a prevention scheme in Brechin to prep the town against floods "for generations to come".
Wild weather is expected across the country, with amber rain warnings stretching from the top of Scotland down to Derby and the rest of the midlands. Parts of Wales will also be hit by the rapid rains and potential floods.
A red warning in the UK marks the first major Met Office issue since February 2022 when Storm Eunice hit the country. Amber warnings in northern England, Wales and the Midlands for Storm Babet were confirmed earlier today.
The warnings will be active from noon on Friday to 6am on Saturday as Brits brace themselves for lashings of rain and travel mayhem. Trains are already seeing cancellations due to gale force winds, with roads blocked also.
Brits are being told to stay home and only venture out if necessary as the storm brings anywhere between 40mm and 120mm of rain, depending on the height of the ground. Higher grounds will see the large latter rainfall while lower parts of the country could see up to 60mm of rain overnight.
Some schools in Scotland are preparing for a brief closure due to the storm while the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has said they are expecting "extensive river and surface water flooding". Ireland was hit by the storm yesterday, with a supermarket "destroyed" by the floods, the Daily Mail reported.
Further warnings from the SEPA read: "Take action now to protect yourself and your property. Hazards can be hidden, so please don't walk or drive into flood water.
"Remember that not only is flood water likely to be dirty, 30cm of fast flowing water can move an average family sized car, and just 15cm of fast flowing water could be enough to knock you off your feet."
Forecaster Greg Dewhurst said: "We're likely to see flooding, power disruption, travel disruption, there is a risk to life as well. There's also an amber wind warning out for eastern parts of Scotland, where we could see gusts of 60mph to 70mph, just adding to the extremely dangerous weather coming for parts of Scotland."
The Daily Star previously reported a projected end date for the worrying weather, but even after Storm Babet passes, Brits could be in for a series of snow showers.
Exact Weather's James Madden said: "We could see some extremely stormy periods of weather developing during the final third of October and into early November. This would coincide to deliver the first major and significant snow of the season for the north and for the ski resorts within this period."
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- UK Weather
- Weather Forecast
- Met Office
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