Amber warning remains in place for south Wales, with ‘danger to life from fast flowing or deep water’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Rivers have burst their banks and one village is on evacuation alert in Wales as storm Callum continues to bring heavy downpours to parts of the UK.

More than 30 flood warnings were in place in south-west Wales on Saturday, with a further five in England and two in Scotland.

An amber warning for south Wales, issued by the Met Office, remains in place until 6pm, with people in the region told to expect flooding and “danger to life from fast flowing or deep water”.

Tell us: are you being affected by extreme weather in the UK? Read more

Fire crews rescued a resident of Aberaman, Rhondda Cynon Taff, from a first floor window on Saturday morning, the BBC reported. Other residents were evacuated as a precaution but allowed to return shortly after 11am.

Vicki LeClerc told the BBC that she and her neighbours had chosen to stay in their homes overnight despite offers of transport to leave. She said waters were continuing to rise. “My piano is currently on the sofa and everything we can salvage is upstairs,” she said. “We’re just going to sit and wait and see how bad it gets.”

Thousands of households were left without power and dozens of flights were grounded on Friday as western Britain and the Republic of Ireland experienced torrential rain and winds of more than 70mph.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The River Neath in Aberdulais, south Wales. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA

Several police forces reported road accidents caused by surface water overnight.

A yellow warning covers much of the rest of Wales and parts of Scotland and the north-west and south-east of England.

The latest warnings come after the Brecon Beacons village of Libanus in south Wales recorded 182mm of rain in 48 hours – , more than the monthly average for the region of 169mm.

“We have seen a significant amount of rain over the last 24 hours and this will continue today,” NRW’s duty tactical manager, Sioned Warrell, said.

“We have already seen this impact on the roads and we could see more flooding as the rain flows down from the mountains. Making sure you know what the situation is like where you live is really important.”

NRW is telling people to be alert for more flooding because rivers may continue to rise on Saturday. It has issued nearly 30 swollen river warnings.

Strong winds have led to speed restrictions being imposed on many rail routes, and delays were likely in Devon and Cornwall. Virgin services between London and Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow have been reduced.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An amber warning remains in place for south Wales. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA

Some Arriva Trains Wales services were cancelled after flooding and fallen trees caused major disruption. Passengers were advised not to travel on Saturday.

Despite conditions in western parts of the country, the Met Office said temperatures in east and south-east of England could reach 25C, significantly above average for the time of year.

Storm Callum was named by Met Éireann and is the third named storm of the season.

Hurricane Leslie is also expected to hit the Iberian peninsula on Saturday night, bringing strong winds and heavy rains days after deadly floods on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

The storm is likely to make landfall nears Lisbon before moving across the peninsula.