Strong winds and heavy rainfall cause damage and delays in eastern, south-eastern and central England

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A man died on Monday after being washed off a harbour wall in Ramsgate, Kent, as strong winds and heavy rain battered parts of Britain.

Kent police said they were called to the scene in the Royal Harbour, Ramsgate, at around 11.30am on Monday reacting to reports three people were in the water.



A force spokeswoman said: “Three men were recovered from the water, but one was later pronounced dead at the scene. The other two were taken to hospital for treatment. The death is not being treated as suspicious. Inquiries are ongoing to identify next of kin.”

It came as Kent and Surrey were forecast to receive more than a month’s worth of rain and as swaths of the country faced a cold, wet and windy start to the week.



The windy, wet weather affected east, south-east and central England, the Met Office said. It warned of floods, power cuts and damage to trees and other structures. Temperatures were expected to remain low with a high of 8C (46F) forecast for London, 12C in Manchester and 6C in Norwich.

Nearly 40 “be prepared” flood alerts were active on Monday afternoon, mostly for south-east England, while two “flooding is expected” warnings were in force in north-east England and Anglia.

“It’s the south-east portion of the UK that will be getting the worst of the weather,” the Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said. The North Downs between Kent and Surrey could receive up to 80mm of rain, compared with the April average for the area of 50mm.



Met Office (@metoffice) It's currently very wet and #windy across southeast England with steady #rain set to last for much of the day. Some transport disruption is possible this morning. Stay #weatheraware 🌧️ pic.twitter.com/ae9vZ6FiUc





In the Channel, force nine gales and rough seas were delaying shipping, with P&O Ferries reporting three-hour delays in departures from Dover.

P&O Ferries Updates (@POferriesupdate) We are sorry to say that adverse weather conditions are having a severe impact on our Services between #PODover <> #POCalais

Next Departures as follows:#PODover: 12:05 - ETD 15:15#POCalais: 12:35 - ETD 16:15

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Flooding at the Crooked Billet underpass in Walthamstow, north London, caused long delays for rush-hour motorists and one lane remained closed, Transport for London said. Pictures posted online showed fallen trees blocking roads in London, with tree surgeons disposing of one that had crashed through a wall in Ealing.

A man was trapped when a tree fell on to his car in Herne Bay, Kent. Firefighters cut the roof off the vehicle before the man received treatment from medical staff, Kent fire and rescue service said.

In Southampton, the Essex and Hampshire cricket teams took to the pitch at the Ageas Bowl wearing woolly hats, watched by just a smattering of fans.

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Clare Dinnis, the flood duty manager for the Environment Agency, said: “Widespread heavy rain from Sunday evening and through Monday could lead to flooding from surface water and rivers in parts of south, south-east and central England. Strong winds will also lead to large waves and spray in exposed coastal areas and we encourage people to take care in these locations.”







