Storm Bert: At least two dead as hundreds of flood alerts remain in place

Hundreds of flood warnings and alerts remain in place on Monday as disruption from Storm Bert continues
Disruption caused by Storm Bert continues into Monday with at least two people confirmed dead after “devastating” flooding over the weekend.
The last of the Met Office’s rain warnings ended at 11.59pm on Sunday but strong winds persist and rain from high ground will reach rivers, which could disrupt clean-up efforts.
More than 200 flood alerts remain in place for England and Wales with travel issues set to continue into the week.
In North Wales, a body was found in the search for 75-year-old, Brian Perry who sent missing after walking his dog during the storm on Saturday near Afon Conwy river.
In a statement on Facebook on Sunday, Chief Inspector Simon Kneale of North Wales Police said: “I would like to thank the efforts of all agencies involved in the searches in very difficult conditions and for the local community who supported the teams in the area.
“Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time and they have asked that their privacy is respected.”
Another man in his 80s died after his car entered the water at a ford in Colne, Lancashire on Saturday afternoon. it is unclear if his death is directly related to the storm.
The last of the Met Office’s weather warnings ended on Sunday night but warned that strong winds and rain will remain.
Hundreds of homes were left without power as roads were turned into rivers and winds of up to 82mph battered parts of the UK.
A major incident was declared in South Wales on Sunday in the region of Rhondda Cynon Taf amid fears of a more significant impact than during storm Dennis in 2020.
It’s estimated between 200 and 300 properties in the area were affected by flooding as landslides were also reported in the north of the country.
Two severe flood warnings, meaning there is danger to life, have been issued for the River Monnow in south-east Wales for Monmouth and Skenfrith.
Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan said it had been “a really difficult weekend”.
She said: “I think this is the second time that many of those have suffered as a result of the storm.
“There’s been huge investments since the last storm hit, so we’ve managed to protect lots more properties than last time.
“But obviously this is absolutely devastating just before Christmas for those people who have been impacted.”
The Met Office forecast that rain in the south-east of England will clear on Monday but blustery showers could stick around for the north-west.
There is still a significant flood risk in hundreds of places, with a severe warning issued for Billing Aquadrome and surrounding parks next to the River Nene in Northampton.
Rail passengers have been urged not to travel between Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, and Stansted Airport after multiple fallen trees damaged the electrical overhead wires.
Major disruption is expected until 2pm on Monday.
Southern Rail said some of its services across the south-east of England will be cancelled or revised on Monday including its network across London and the West Coastway between Havant and Southampton.
In Northampton, London Northwestern Railway reports that no rail services will operate to and from Northampton Station.
There is also no road access to the station, so rail replacement buses will be unable to run.
Transport for Wales said all services between Pontypridd and Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil are currently cancelled with disruption expected throughout Monday.
It added lines are closed between Hereford and Abergavenny due to a landslip with no rail replacement service available, while no services will run between Shrewsbury and Swansea until at least 12pm.
Services between Lancaster and Barrow-in-Furness in Lancashire will not run until Friday due to heavy flooding, with rail replacement transport extending journey times by up to an hour.
More than 300 flights set to depart from UK airports were cancelled during Storm Bert, aviation analytics firm Cirium said.
Heathrow Airport was worst affected, with crosswinds of up to 40mph causing disruption to departures and arrivals on Sunday.
On Sunday night, some major roads were closed due to the ongoing impacts of flooding.
The Fire Service and South Gloucestershire Council have reported flooding with the A431 around Bath Road in Swineford, Shire Way Yate and adjacent roads, affected.
The M32 in Bristol was closed northbound between J1 near Hambrook and the M4 J19, and the A49 in Shropshire and Herefordshire was closed in both directions.
Simon Brown, services director at the Met Office, said: “Our thoughts are with those who are currently affected with the impacts caused by Storm Bert in South Wales, as well as the rest of the country.”
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