Flood warnings as thousands without power after Storm Darragh

Tens of thousands of homes remain without power and flood warnings continue in the wake of Storm Darragh.

Two men died when trees fell on their vehicles in separate incidents during the storm over the weekend, which caused power outages and significant disruption to travel.

Train operators have warned disruption is set to continue on the rail network.

The weather on Monday is expected to be mostly dry.

The Energy Networks Association, which represents energy networks in the UK, said as of 19:00 GMT on Sunday about 118,000 customers were without power. The association said 1.8 million people have already been reconnected.

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said as of 07:00 on Monday about 1,500 homes remain without power after Storm Darragh. Electricity has been restored to more than 92,000 homes, after sustained high gusts caused the power cuts.

Affected residents are being offered warm drinks and charging facilities at community centres.

Flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – remain in force, with 48 in England and two in Wales.

There are 147 flood alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in England and 14 in Wales.

National Rail said disruption will continue for some services.

Buses are replacing trains between Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent until the end of the day.

Damage to overhead electric wires means there are no trains between Bromsgrove, Redditch and Birmingham New Street, and Lichfield Trent Valley.

There are also disruptions on some Great Western Railway Routes and on various Transport for Wales routes.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told the BBC on Sunday: “We saw two people have lost their lives and there has been major disruption.”

“I know the energy secretary has been speaking about the power cuts and has been making sure that people have the power, and my thoughts are with those who have had that disruption.”

The weather on Monday will be dry and bright in the north, with wintry sunshine.

Further south, it will be breezier with bright spells and variable cloud.

But for most, it will be dry with the odd light shower for southern England.