This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

The UK is braced for more unsettled weather after more than two-thirds of a month’s rainfall fell in some areas over the weekend.

In East Anglia, roads were closed and trains faced mass disruptions on Sunday because of flooding, prompting police to warn people to travel only if essential.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service said it had been “inundated” with 999 calls about “widespread flooding” as residents were advised to turn off the electricity supply and move their valuables upstairs in precautionary measures.

Greater Anglia train services between Norwich, Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth and Sheringham were disrupted due to flooding on railway tracks.

Residents were advised against traveling on these routes, with a small number of rail replacement bus services put in place.

The Met Office issued an amber warning of possible risk to life and property and issued a statement on Sunday saying Cromer on the Norfolk coast had experienced the highest total rainfall of 46.4mm in the past 12 hours followed by 45.6mm falling at Weybourne and 44.6mm at Tibenham Airfield, both also in Norfolk.

Helen Roberts, a Met Office meteorologist, said 64.9mm was the average for such locations in the whole of October. Islay in Scotland also saw heavy rainfall of 55.6mm in 24 hours, while in northern England some areas saw around 20mm.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A car drives through a flooded street in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Norfolk police said the issue of surface water on roads was “particularly acute” in the east of the county, as motorists continue to bear the brunt of the floods.

Police in North Yorkshire also warned drivers of the risks posed by standing water on thoroughfares.

Five flood warnings, issued by the Environment Agency, were in place on Sunday, covering rivers on the Welsh border near Shrewsbury, Aintree on Merseyside and Reeth in North Yorkshire.

A further 51 flood alerts were issued advising people to prepare for possible flooding across northern, central and south-east England.

Roberts said: “The rain in East Anglia will gradually pass and clear but on Monday morning there will be another spell of wet and windy weather pushing in from the west. That will gradually push its way eastward across the UK.”

She said by the time it got to East Anglia on Monday it would have lessened but that western and northern areas would take the brunt of the downpours, experiencing “a good few hours of persistent rain”.

Roberts said that more blustery showers would hit the north and west on Tuesday and Wednesday with conditions remaining unsettled for the rest of the week.

The heavy rain on the weekend came after downpours last week caused flash flooding across the UK and left residents trapped in their homes on the Isle of Man, where a major incident was declared after a river burst its banks.

The wet start to the month follows a rainier than average September in which 122.4mm of rain fell – 27% more than the monthly average of 96.4mm.