Turn off gas and electricity tonight, warns Met Office

Split of stock images© Getty

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain covering large parts of the UK with advice given to homeowners at risk of flooding including turning off their gas and electricity.

The alert will be in place for 21 hours in seven UK regions: London & South East England, East Midlands, West Midlands, South West England, Wales, East of England and Yorkshire & Humber.

The alert period will begin at 9pm on Saturday night until 6pm on Sunday evening, with residents told that “areas of heavy, possibly thundery rain may cause flooding and disruption in parts of England and Wales on Saturday night and Sunday”.The Met Office website recommends Britons check the flood advice in their area provides the following six simple tests to protect home and business during flood conditions.

1. Charge mobile phone devices
2. Park your car outside the flood zone
3. Prepare a flood kit to help you cope in the event of flooding to your home and business
4. Store valuables up high, including electrical devices, important documents and furniture
5. Turn off gas water and electricity supplies

Met Office map© Met Office / © MapTiler / © OpenStreetMap contributors

People trapped in a building by floodwater, are told to:

• Go to the highest level in the building you are in
• Do not go into attic spaces to avoid being trapped by rising water
• Only go to a roof if necessary
• Call 999 and wait for help

The national forecaster is predicting a a “slight chance” of power cuts, and businesses and homes being flooded due the looming downpour, and a small chance that some communities will become cut off due to flooded roads.

Spray could cause difficult driving conditions and some road closures. Fast-flowing or deep floodwater could also result in “danger to life” in severe scenarios, the Met Office said.

Yellow Weather Warning For Rain Warns Of Flooding In Southwest Scotland© Getty

“Whilst there remains some uncertainty with exact details, areas of heavy and at times thundery rain are expected to spread north, then west, across England and Wales from this evening and overnight,” the warning adds.

“These areas of heavy rain may become more persistent across western areas during Sunday daytime whilst slow-moving heavy showers and thunderstorms are likely to develop further east.

“Rainfall amounts will vary considerably across the warning area with some locations seeing less than 10 mm of rainfall whilst others see 40-60 mm of rain.

“There is a lower chance that a few spots within the warning area could see 80-100 mm of rain by the end of Sunday which may fall in a fairly small period of time.

“These higher totals are slightly more probable in the southern half of the warning area. Given this region has also seen a lot of rain since Thursday, impacts may be more likely than would normally be expected for the time of year here.”

The warning comes after Wales saw horror flash floods, with one month’s worth of rain falling on Friday night going into Saturday morning.

You can find out the latest information and which regions and local authorities are affected here.