DisastersTorrential rain, hurricane-force winds, floods continue to batter U.K.

Heavy rains, flooding, and hurricane-force winds continue to batter the western United Kingdom, with more than 80,000 homes still without power. Road and rail networks have been seriously disrupted.

The Energy Networks Association said its engineers had reconnected 145,000 homes and businesses to the power grid, while train operators were trying to restore service in areas hit by heavy rain, floods, and trees and debris strewn across tracks.

The Guardian reports that the prime minister is leading talks on the recovery from one of the wettest winters on record, chairing a new cabinet committee on flood recovery. He said: “Government departments and agencies are working flat out to help everyone affected by the severe storms that hit much of the country last night.”

Britain is enjoying a short respite today (Thursday), but meteorologists warned people to brace themselves for more chaos as another storm brings heavy rain, strong winds, and more risk of flooding on Friday and into the weekend.

The West Country is expected to have 2.75in of rain by the end of today, the Met Office said, which is more than the region would typically expect to get in the whole of February, while south Wales, western Scotland, Northern Ireland, and other parts of southern England are also expected to be hardly hit by the deluge.

Northern England and parts of Scotland should expect snow today, and on Friday more rain and winds of up to 80 mph will arrive from the south-west.

Yesterday, the Met Office issued a rare red warning — the first since January 2013 – calling on people to take action to avoid risk to life. Police forces in Manchester and south and north Wales urged people to stay indoors as 108 mph winds felled trees and sent debris flying.

Firefighters were called more than 300 times about incidents in Lancashire. In neighboring Merseyside, ferry services were cancelled on Wednesday night as winds reached speeds of 86 mph.

The Guardian notes that rail services, which were cancelled or subject to speed restrictions as the storm hit, were still disrupted on Thursday. First Great Western continued to urge passengers not to travel unless absolutely necessary, and Network Rails said that services in the north run by First TransPennine Express, London Midland, Northern Rail, Virgin Trains, East Coast, and Northern Rail and CrossCountry were also affected.

The AA reported dozens of roads closed across southern England and the west Midlands. In Worcester alone, authorities ordered the closing of dozens of roads and bridges after the water level in the Severn was reported to have hit an all-time high.

Western Power Distribution said on yesterday that there were 68,000 homes without power in north Wales and 15,000 in south Wales.

Severe flood warnings, indicating danger to life, remain in place in Berkshire, Surrey, and Somerset, where hundreds of homes have been evacuated. The Environment Agency said 1,135 homes have been flooded since 29 January.