People in Keswick and Appleby have already been evacuated from their homes.
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In Wales, dozens of people needed rescuing from cars after they were stranded on flooded roads and 300 gale-hit homes were left without power.
Pumps from other parts of England have been transported up to Cumbria over the last two days and are now being moved to the areas where flooding is likely to be expected.
The RNLI’s flood rescue team was also deployed to Cumbria after some rivers reached their highest ever recorded levels.
A 90-year-old man has died after apparently being blown into the side of a bus by a gust of wind as Storm Desmond hit the country.
In Shepherd’s Bush witnesses suggested the force of the wind could have been behind the collapse of a roof onto the pavement below.
Dumfries and Galloway Council said it was preparing for flooding similar to that which hit the region in 2009, while river levels in Perth and Hawick were said to be their highest since 2006.
Forecasts predict that heavy rain will fall right through the night until 7am. Flooding was also reported along parts of the N60 Claremorris/ Castlebar Rd.
“People in the Lothian and Fife area should take special care when planning their journeys due to extra pressures being placed on the network by the closure of the Forth Road Bridge and consider whether journeys are necessary”.
Weather experts at the Met Office have issued severe flood warnings, which warn of a danger to life, in more than 40 areas, along with 85 flood warnings. The horse has been trapped in the water since the River Tyne burst around 2 p.m. local time Saturday.
As the fourth storm of the winter approaches, the forecaster said parts of the northwest will get a month’s rainfall over a 36-hour period.
Severe weather warnings were also issued for Connacht, Clare, Kerry and Donegal in west Ireland.
Flooding and landslides brought disruption to travel across Scotland, while some homes have been evacuated as rivers burst their banks in the Borders and Tayside.
A 15-mile stretch of the A82 was shut after at least 200 tonnes of debris slipped from a hillside above Altura in the Highlands.
He said: “We have been restoring supplies in areas throughout the day and are working with local authorities and emergency services”.
Flooding and surface water was also causing misery across Lancashire, the west Pennines and the Cheviot Hills.
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The village of Shap in Westmorland county, northwest England, received the most rain in the 24 hours to 1900 GMT on Saturday, with 178 millimetres falling – well above the average for the whole of December, said the Met Office.
