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Storm Franklin: Evacuations underway as third named storm hits Britain
Published 10:18 21 Feb 2022 GMT
Homenews
It's the third storm to hit the UK in a week
Flood alerts are in place and evacuations have taken place across the country as Storm Franklin hits the UK. Just days after Storm Eunice caused wide-spread chaos, areas of the UK are experiencing fierce winds and rain. The public has been urged to "not travel" by train as services experience major delays because of the weather. Plus, on Sunday, major evacuations were underway in Didsbury, Greater Manchester, as the area experienced flooding. https://twitter.com/EnvAgencyNW/status/1495527494992158724 Hundreds of flood warnings remain in place across the the UK, with two "severe" rainfall warnings issued for communities along the River Mersey in Greater Manchester. https://twitter.com/BobJWilliams/status/1495523936934715399 This means the weather could pose a "danger to life." An amber warning for wind has been issued to Northern Ireland, while yellow wind warnings cover England, Wales and south-western Scotland from midday until 1pm on Monday (February 21). https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/1495507400429813770 TransPennine Express (TPE) is strongly urging commuters to "avoid travel if possible." Speaking on Sunday evening, TPE operations director Paul Watson said: "Due to the impact of Storm Franklin, train services are disrupted along the West Coast Mainline.
"The safety of our customers and staff is our priority and we are warning customers not to travel between Preston and Edinburgh/Glasgow until after 10am tomorrow.
"Anyone planning on travelling by train today or before 10am tomorrow can choose to defer their travel or claim a refund."
https://twitter.com/TPEassist/status/1495519226097983490
These sentiments were echoed by Great Western Railway (GWR), which has urged customers to travel only "if absolutely necessary" - warning that they expect services to be "significantly disrupted across the network" on Monday.
National Rail said: "Please check before you travel if you plan to use train services today or on Monday.
"The poor weather conditions may cause flooding, and any trees already weakened by Storm Eunice may fall down.
"Where conditions worsen, speed restrictions could be put in place to ensure you can travel safely."
And South Western Railway said that a 50mph speed restriction is in place for their trains, adding to "delays and cancellations throughout the day."
The network added that it was "unable to guarantee replacement travel services will be provided during this challenging time."
You can find the latest updates about all rail networks on the National Rail Twitter page.
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