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Travel chaos, floods as Storm Desmond hits Britain

The Desertcreat Road in Cookstown was also closed on Friday night due to a fallen tree.

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A status red rainfall warning is in place for large parts of the west and north west of Ireland with flooding likely in many areas.

Travel disruptions are expected along Scotland’s west coast on Scottish ferry network Caledonian MacBrayne.

The Met Office said: ‘Be prepared for the likelihood of flooding affecting properties and parts of communities. Watercourses may become unsafe, deep and fast-flowing, while further disruption to transport is expected.

Rainfalls of 60 to 100mm are likely, with some mountainous areas facing the possibility of 200mm over a 30-hour period.

River levels were expected to rise between 4am and 7am, which Police said could potentially cause flooding in the town. A spokesman said: “In anticipating that there may be areas of flooding, Police Scotland would also advise that you are mindful of the road conditions and drive accordingly”. Shrewsbury to Chester is also on “flood watch” and speed restrictions may be in place between Llandudno and Holyhead. “Note that river flooding may cause high impacts in small areas”.

“Currently, it is anticipated that the Tay at Perth will peak at levels not seen since 2006 and the Ettrick at Hawick is anticipated to be of a similar scale to the 2005 flood event”. The A9 is blocked in both directions around Dalguise in Perth and Kinross. Roads have been closed throughout the North and Scotland as Storm Desmond caused road chaos, landslides and floo…

Dumfries and Galloway Council said it was preparing for flooding similar to that which hit the region in 2009.

The A924 slip road into Pitlochry from the A9 is closed due to the River Tummel bursting its banks.

As well as problems in Dumfries, sandbags were being deployed in Langholm and Annan.

Early on Saturday, Red Cross volunteers were called out to set up and run a rest centre for people evacuated from their flood-threatened homes in Hawick.

Advice centres are open in Appleby at the Sports Hall at Appleby Grammar School and Keswick at St Herbert’s CE Primary and Nursery School.

The Met Office has issued the highest weather warning for parts of Cumbria as emergency services and residents battle to save homes.

Cumbria Police declared the severe weather across Cumbria a major incident, according to a statement posted on its website.

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They added that all roads surrounding Keswick are now closed, having been badly affected by the flooding – especially the A66.

Flood warnings issued as storm Desmond batters UK