Winds of almost 80mph and very heavy rain have battered parts of south-west England as Storm Ciarán brings disruption to swathes of the UK.
Hundreds of schools have been shut, roads closed, flights and bus and rail routes disrupted with “danger to life” amber warnings in place for wind across southern England.
By 7.30am on Thursday the Environment Agency had issued 65 flood warnings for England and 156 flood alerts. Natural Resources Wales warned river levels in the far south-west of the country could be the highest ever recorded. Around 10,000 homes were without power in south-west England.
The Channel Islands bore the brunt of the storm on Wednesday night and into the early hours of Thursday, where Jersey police said winds reached 102mph (164km/h).
About 40 people were evacuated from their homes on the island because of damage to buildings. Four people were taken to A&E and the roof of Jersey general hospital was damaged.
Very large hailstones pounded the islands and there were 9-metre swells and an unconfirmed report of a tornado. The Jersey Met Section issued a red wind warning, its highest level. All flights from Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney airports on Thursday were cancelled and ferries to and from the islands suspended.
Wind speeds of more than 70mph were recorded on the Isles of Scilly and at Berry Head in south Devon while there were winds of more than 60mph at Shoreham in West Sussex and Langdon Bay in Kent.
The centre of the storm is set to track across southern England, the south-east and East Anglia, before heading into the North Sea on Thursday afternoon.
There were power cuts in towns and villages in Cornwall, where the council advised people not to travel unless absolutely necessary.
An empty car was washed into the sea at Sidmouth, Devon, on Wednesday night and more than 250 schools were shut in the county.
A major incident was declared in Hampshire with schools in Southampton advised not to open.
In south-west Wales, Kiln caravan site in Tenby was evacuated, where there was a severe flood warning on the River Ritec, where Natural Resources Wales said water levels could reach the highest on record.
Commuters in southern England were urged to work from home by some trail companies, who said there was debris on many sections.
Train passengers travelling between Scotland and England will face disruption, with operators warning of delays and cancellations.
UK Met Office spokesperson Oliver Claydon said: “There will be very dangerous conditions on the coastline, large waves. We would urge people not to go near the water’s edge. Rain warnings are in place, there will be some very saturated grounds bringing an additional hazard.”
Northern Wales is predicted to receive the most rain, with the potential for 10cm (nearly 4in) over 36 hours.
Thursday’s amber warning is in place from 3am to 11am in Cornwall and Devon. Across much of the south coast of England and parts of the south-east, the amber warning runs from 6am to 5pm.
The warning says wind could disrupt travel, bring down power lines and cause structural damage, with flying debris providing a threat to life.
Yellow warnings for rain are in place for southern England and Wales, north-east Wales, north-east England and Scotland stretching up to Inverness, and the south-east of Northern Ireland.
Kate Marks, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said “significant flooding” was possible. “We advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and urge people not to drive through flood water as just 30cm (1ft) of flowing water is enough to move your car,” she said.
In northern France the storm left one person dead and 1.2 million households without electricity on Thursday with parts of Brittany and Normandy on red alert for strong winds and the rest of the north-west on orange alert. Wind speeds of more than 100mph were recorded.
The transport minister, Clément Beaune, said a truck driver died in the Aisne department, north-east of Paris, when a tree fell on his truck.
Dutch airline KLM has scrapped dozens of flights to and from Amsterdam Schiphol airport on Thursday.
Friederike Otto, at Imperial College London, said: “There are a lot of lines of evidence showing that autumn and winter storms like this are more damaging because of climate change. That’s because the rainfall associated with these types of storms is more severe due to climate change, and the storm surges are higher and thus more damaging due to the higher sea levels.”
Michael Byrne, at the University of St Andrews, said: “The heavy rain is very likely to be linked to climate change: a warmer atmosphere holds more water vapour. The link between strong winds and climate change is much less clear. There is some evidence suggesting storms like Ciarán will become windier as climate warms, but the jury is out.”