- By Harrison Jones
- BBC News
Several streets in Retford are under an evacuation order as flood waters rise
Residents of some 500 homes in a Nottinghamshire town have been urged to evacuate due to flooding caused by Storm Babet.
Nottinghamshire County Council declared a major incident as it told people in Retford they were at risk over high water levels along the River Idle.
The river reached record levels on Sunday, with water still rising.
Earlier, police said a woman in her 80s had died in Chesterfield following flooding from the storm.
Derbyshire Constabulary initially said the death was “believed to be related to the flooding”, but later stated only that investigations were “continuing”.
Two severe flood warnings – meaning there is a danger to life – are in place in the Retford area.
Rain is forecast to ease across the country on Sunday, with drier and brighter conditions expected, but the Environment Agency has warned flooding along major rivers could continue for days.
The organisation’s flood duty manager, Katharine Smith, said: “Following persistent, heavy rain from Storm Babet, severe river flooding impacts are probable in parts of the East Midlands and South Yorkshire… into Sunday.
“Ongoing flooding is probable on some larger rivers including the Severn, Ouse and Trent through to Tuesday.”
More than 190 other flood warnings and over 150 flood alerts remain in place in England.
Widespread travel problems are also expected to continue, with train companies warning of disruption in parts of Yorkshire, East Anglia the East Midlands and Scotland.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) advised its customers not to travel north of Edinburgh, while it has no services operating from the city towards Aberdeen or Inverness. Urgent repairs are taking place at Plessey Viaduct.
A 56-year-old man also died after his van hit a tree near Forfar, and a 67-year-old woman was killed after being swept into the Water of Lee.
Police Scotland told BBC News on Sunday it was continuing to search for an unnamed driver reported to be trapped in a vehicle near Marykirk, Aberdeenshire, on Friday.
BBC Weather forecaster Gemma Plumb said: “There were a number of places in north and east England, and in Scotland, that saw at least a month’s worth of rain in a few days as a result of Storm Babet, with one or two places seeing closer to twice the average monthly rainfall – one of which was Wattisham in Suffolk.”
Serious damage has been caused in the Marykirk area, where a man was reported missing
Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire County Council branded the situation in Retford “unprecedented” and said it had opened a rest centre at Retford Leisure Centre.
Council leader Ben Bradley, who is also the Conservative MP for Mansfield, said local families were being supported by police and fire services.
“This severe warning means potential risk to life, so it really is important that residents do please cooperate with those services,” he said.
Derby City Council said there were record-breaking water levels in the River Derwent and warned cleaning up after the floods could take several days.
Elsewhere, residents in the Aberdeen suburb of Peterculter were advised to leave their homes in case of flooding over the weekend, while Brechin in Angus was among the worst-hit areas, with 60 households having to be rescued after an evacuation warning for the entire town.
People across Scotland remain in temporary accommodation due to floods, as well as residents from the rural village of Debenham, Suffolk.
On Saturday, coastguard helicopters airlifted 45 workers off a North Sea drilling platform after it lost anchors during the extreme weather.
