A shopping centre has been evacuated by the emergency services as wet weather continues to lash the UK. East Sussex
fire and Rescue Service said they were assisting with the incident at Priory Meadow Shopping Centre in Hastings.
Social Media footage showed deep floodwater had come inside through the entrance on Station Road, the Mirror reports. “We are assisting in dealing with flooding at the Priory Meadow Shopping centre, Hastings, which has been evacuated,” the service said in a statement. Posting on X, the service added: “If you have cars in Hastings town centre you are advised to move them due to flooding.” It comes as forecasters warned of the danger of flooding this weekend due to thundery heavy showers and strong winds. Areas in
London and the south of England, the Highlands and north east of
Scotland and Northern
Ireland are all set to be lashed over the next few days. The worst affected regions could see 70mph gusts or up to nearly four inches of rain, leading to possible flooding, travel delays and power cuts. It comes after areas across Scotland and north-east
England were battered with the worst of Storm Babet, which caused serious damage and several deaths when it hit last week. Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said: “On Saturday we’ve got frequent showers across the south and west which will move across Wales and into the south-east during the morning, before a more general area of cloud and rain moves up, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. “That will move northern eastwards during the course of Saturday and into Sunday, behind it showers which could be locally heavy and thundery and particularly squally. We do have a yellow rain warning covering London and the south-east until the end of Sunday, talking about fairly heavy rain, 15 to 30mm, some spots could see highs of 50 to 70mm with some strong, gusty winds, there could be some localised impacts. “The band of cloud and rain will continue moving northwards during Sunday, especially focused in eastern Scotland, which is already rather sensitive following the high rainfall from Storm Babet, so more unwelcome rain for that patch of the world and we have a yellow rain warning in place there today and tomorrow, talking about 50 to 80mm of rain accompanied by strong, gusty winds of 50 to 70mph. On its own the rainfall totals are not that high but given the fact we’ve had all that rain from Storm Babet it doesn’t take much for there to be localised impacts because the ground is already saturated.” Some rail services in Scotland have been suspended, with customers advised to check their journey before travelling. The latest Scottish Flood Forecast said “significant flooding impacts” are likely in the north east on Friday and Saturday due to torrential downpours. Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has 39 flood warnings in place, stretching from north-east to south-west England, meaning flooding should be expected. A shopping centre has been evacuated due to flooding in Hastings town centre. East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said they were assisting with the situation at Priory Meadow Shopping Centre, where social media footage showed deep floodwater had come inside through the entrance on Station Road. The service also urged people to move any cars that may be parked in the town centre. A spokesperson for the service said there are no formal plans to evacuate homes for now. Trains between Hastings or Eastbourne and Ashford International are running at reduced speed due to a fault with the signalling system, Southern Rail posted on X, formerly
Twitter . The train operator said they were informed of lightning damaging the system in the area.
UK 5 day weather forecast Today: Frequent showers in the west and south, perhaps thundery at times, then more persistent rain from the south later. Grey for eastern Scotland with outbreaks of patchy rain. Drier with sunny spells for eastern England after morning fog clears. Tonight: Remaining cloudy with further rain across eastern Scotland, although less heavy for a time. Heavy rain and strong winds moves northwards overnight. Clearer spells and scattered showers elsewhere. Sunday: Outbreaks of rain, sometimes heavy and persistent, continuing to spread into parts of eastern Scotland. Further south, sunny spells and blustery showers, most frequent along southern and western coasts. Outlook for Monday to Wednesday: Remaining unsettled for most with further showers, rain, and strong winds at times. Turning drier but also colder for some northern areas during the start the new week.