UK braced for storms

2,500 Essex homes have been evacuated as UK braced for the worst tidal surge in 30 years.

13:31 05 December 2013

BBC weather presenter Matt Taylor has announced that storm surges are expected later today. He explained that these will begin when a rising area of low pressure takes pressure off the surface of the sea. "Then, as that pulls away, you get the very strong winds on the back edge of the low pressure and then that shoves that bulge of high sea levels down through the North Sea.”

As England’s east coast prepares for the worst tidal surge in 30 years, 2,500 homes have been evacuated. A plane has been diverted to Newcastle due to strong winds and 100,000 homes in Scotland are now experiencing power interruption.

Meanwhile, Network Rail has cancelled all trains in Scotland and has warned travellers to expect delays in Northern and Easter England.

Environment Agency flood risk manager Pete Fox, has urged people in coastal areas to make necessary preparation.

He said: "The most important thing actually is that along the East Coast, the high tide will be hitting in the hours of darkness this evening and tonight so people really need to take the daylight hours today to prepare for the coastal and tidal flooding that we're predicting.

"We've been working with the emergency services for the last 24 hours or so gearing up for this event."