Anxious wait ahead as Storm Frank threatens Yorkshire with another battering

The Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is to visit the south of Scotland to assess the damage in Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders.

Cork County Council staff along with Civil Defence and members from the Cork County Fire Service had worked through the night to try and limit flooding but the heavy rains brought by Storm Frank made it a losing battle.

In Aberdeenshire, around 1,700 homes are without power in areas including Fraserburgh, Kintore, Durris, Cruden Bay, and New Deer. But Electricity North West said supplies have now been restored to all but about 100.

The M48 Severn Bridge at Aust near Bristol was reduced to a single lane in either direction due to strong winds, while flooding has also affected main roads including a stretch of the M4 near Cardiff.

A government-backed scheme to make flood insurance affordable is due to launch in April. Motorists are warned to avoid the area unless using a 4×4.

“In the north east some localised flooding is reported on the A9 at Keir Roundabout and our teams are en route to investigate further”.

“The strong winds and rain also hampered fix efforts”.

Irish Rail also says a number of services have been disrupted this morning, including 25 minute delays at Cork Heuston.

Winds reached nearly 130km/h in parts of the North, and up to 5,000 homes there were without power at one point overnight.

A Yellow, Be Aware, warning for rain is in place for much of the rest of the country.

The warning was in force from 7pm yesterday until 3pm today.

“Fallen trees and timber are responsible for the majority of the damage”. Further storms are expected to follow during the weekend, bringing more rain to the already saturated ground.

Residents are being urged to prepare themselves.

A Met Office spokesperson said: “Rain, heavy at times and often prolonged, will affect many parts of western and northern Britain on Wednesday”.

New Years Eve is expected to be a lot brighter, but will be a somewhat colder day with sunshine and showers, some heavy at times, with hail and thunder during the afternoon.

A multi-agency Strategic Command Group is on standby to respond if the situation worsens.

A auto is left abandoned in flood water, after flooding was caused by Storm Frank, in Newton Stewart, Scotland, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015.

Superintendent Mark Pannone, of Cumbria Constabulary, said to date it has not been as bad as feared.

Coastal areas are set to be hit the worst by Storm Frank, according to Steve, with the storm caused by “deep low pressure” in Scotland which has caused “whipping up of air south to north”.

The loss of the bridge meant Tadcaster was split in two with people having to travel out to the A64 bypass to get to other side of town, including a lengthy detour to Bilborough Top to turn round on the dual carriageway.