As of Sunday morning, the Met Office has issued more than 100 flood warnings and alerts for areas across the British Isles. Scotland appears to have seen the most severe of the storm - with 21 flood warnings and 12 alerts in place, in comparison to England which has 13 warnings and 73 alerts, or Wales which has seen 20 alerts but no warnings as of yet. Scottish rail has warned that railway tracks will need to be checked to ascertain whether there will be disruptions to the train system. Amber alerts have been put into place from in Cumbria to Somerset, areas of which have seen a month's worth of rainfall occur in the last 42 hours. Many homes and businesses have been warned to take immediate action.
This weather comes as Britain feels the force of the tail end of an area of low pressure known as ‘Storm Alex’. Much of Northern Italy and France has felt the devastating consequence of this storm, which has left over three people dead and dozens more missing. Near the border between the two countries, bridges have collapsed, roads been blocked and entire communities isolated.
Despite this, the London Marathon began in St James’ Park amidst heavy rain. Though the in person turnout is much lower than normal due to covid-19 and the poor weather, around 45,000 runners from across the globe are taking part in a virtual marathon.
Written by Emily Jenkins
Artwork by Izzy Johns
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