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22nd October 2023
12:52pm BST
A woman in her 80s has been found dead inside her flooded home, in what is thought to be the ninth death related to Storm Babet.
Derbyshire police, along with fire fighters and the ambulance service, were called to the pensioner's home in Tapton Terrace, Chesterfield, around 10.35am Saturday and found her inside a flat.
The woman, who has not yet been named, was pronounced dead at the scene.
While investigations are at an early stage, it is believed the woman died due to flooding in the area.
The area was flooded due to heavy rain, with Storm Babet prompting the Met Office is issue several weather warnings this week.
On Thursday, a 56-year-old was killed after a tree stuck a van near Forfar in Angus. The body of a 57-year-old woman who was swept into a swollen river was also recovered on Thursday, and on Friday, a man in his 60s, died after getting caught in fast-flowing floodwater in the town of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire.
The Mirror suggested the pensioner was the ninth death related to Storm Babet, while other media reports suggested she was the seventh.
The latest fatality comes as flooding continues to cause chaos around the country with travel disruption across parts of Yorkshire, Scotland, East Anglia and the East Midlands on Sunday.
However, the Met Office said Sunday afternoon would remain "largely dry and bright for many."
The red and yellow weather warnings covering Dundee and the north-east of Scotland have expired and conditions are expected to improve on Sunday.
The Met Office warned of icy patches in Scotland and the far north of England.
Storm Babet brought unprecedented damage and disruption across the north of England and Scotland.
Angus and Aberdeenshire were badly hit by the storm and teams will be clearing debris from roads in the region and assessing damage to bridges.
The Environment Agency (EA) said three severe flood warnings were in place around the River Derwent in Derbyshire. Deep and fast-flowing water carries a significant risk of death or serious injury.
Derby City Council said they are seeing record-breaking water levels in the River Derwent and warned that cleaning up after the floods could take several days.
More than 270 flood warnings - where less dangerous flooding is expected - remain in place across England.
Katharine Smith, EA flood duty manager, said: "Following persistent, heavy rain from Storm Babet, severe river flooding impacts are probable in parts of the East Midlands and South Yorkshire today and into Sunday.
"Severe river flooding impacts are occurring on the River Derwent in Derby, where we have issued severe flood warnings, and significant impacts are also possible elsewhere across the Midlands and parts of northern England today. Ongoing flooding is probable on some larger rivers including the Severn, Ouse and Trent through to Tuesday."
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