Crews battle overnight fire which spread across Kilmarnock shops
There were no reports of any injuries, but residents have been warned to keep their windows closed.An SFRS spokesperson said a total of six appliances were battling the fire at its peak in the early hours of Tuesday.Two crews and an aerial appliance remain on the scene, they added.
The Burns Mall shopping area has been closed, as have King Street, Sandbed Street and Sandbed Lane.East Ayrshire Council urged pedestrians and drivers to avoid the area and keep roads clear.A Police Scotland spokesperson said inquiries into the cause of the fire were ongoing.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
24 minutes ago
- Sky News
Extreme weather 'becoming the norm' - as minister warns UK's way of life 'under threat'
Britain's climate is changing rapidly, with records regularly being smashed and extremes of heat and rainfall becoming the norm, the Met Office has warned. In an updated assessment of the UK's climate, the forecaster says heatwaves and periods of flood or drought are becoming more frequent and more intense. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband called the findings "a stark warning" to take action on climate and nature. "Our British way of life is under threat," Mr Miliband told the PA news agency. "Whether it is extreme heat, droughts, flooding, we can see it actually with our own eyes, that it's already happening, and we need to act." The report shows the period between October 2023 and March 2024 was the wettest winter period in England and Wales in over 250 years. Spring 2024 was also the warmest on record. It says the increasing extremes are "typical of recent years". Mike Kendon, a Met Office climate scientist and lead author of the State of the UK Climate report, said: "Every year that goes by is another upward step on the warming trajectory our climate is on. "Observations show that our climate in the UK is now notably different to what it was just a few decades ago. "We are now seeing records being broken very frequently as we see temperature and rainfall extremes being the most affected by our changing climate." 2:17 The report compares the decade up to 2024 with long-term averages between 1961 and 1990. While the average temperature is increasing, the hottest summer days and coldest winter nights have warmed twice as fast. The climate is also becoming wetter - with the extra rain falling between October and March. Over the last decade, rainfall over the six-month winter period was 16% higher than the average between 1961 and 1990. Effects of UK climate change 'deeply concerning' Chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, Professor Liz Bentley, said the report "reinforces the clear and urgent signals of our changing climate". "While long-term averages are shifting, it is the extreme heat, intense rainfall and droughts that are having the most immediate and dramatic effects on people and nature," she said. "This report is not just a record of change, but a call to action." 0:46 Kathryn Brown, director of climate change at The Wildlife Trusts, said the effects of climate change on UK wildlife were already "deeply concerning". "From swifts dropping out of the sky during heatwaves to trees flowering much earlier than they have in the past," she said. "We are particularly worried about the effects of droughts on our nature reserves."
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Two women dead after torrential rain floods New Jersey and parts of New York
Two women have died in New Jersey as a result of severe flash flooding on the East Coast, which grounded flights and even took out parts of the New York City subway system. The women, who have not been named by authorities, were swept off the road and trapped in their car as waters surged in the Cedar Brook, in Plainfield, New Jersey, on Monday night. According to ABC7, witnesses called 911 when the incident occurred, but rescuers were unable to reach the vehicle due to the ferocity of the storm. The women are believed to have drowned. "We're not unique, but we're in one of these sorts of high humidity, high temperature, high storm intensity patterns right now," said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, speaking to reporters Tuesday. "Everybody needs to stay alert." Both New Jersey and New York states declared a state of emergency on Monday night as severe storms battered the region. In Plainfield, roads were damaged and pieces of sidewalks were missing, with debris strewn everywhere, per ABC. Authorities were investigating why a house caught on fire and collapsed and whether it was due to a possible explosion. Meanwhile, a flood warning was in effect on Monday night for all five boroughs of New York City, while video shared online from commuters showed subway stations filling up with water and sloshing into carriages. By Tuesday morning, the system was fully operational for commuters; however, some roads remained closed across both states. Janno Lieber, chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, told ABC 7 in New York that there was also full service operating on the Long Island Railroad and Metro North commuter rail service after hundreds of people worked overnight to restore operations. The sudden flooding occurred after the city's sewer system became overwhelmed by the rain and backed up into the subway tunnels and to the stations, Lieber said. In several cases, he added, the backup 'popped a manhole,' creating the dramatic 'geyser' seen in some videos. 'What happened last night is something that is, you know, a reality in our system,' Lieber said. 'We've been working with the city of New York to try to get them to increase the capacity of the system at these key locations.' In addition, dozens of flights were delayed or canceled at at least six area airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport/ A total of 159 flights were canceled at Newark Liberty Airport, according to FlightAware data.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Mixed weather forecast for UK amid heatwave
The UK is forecast to experience another period of rising temperatures by the end of the week, with some areas potentially reaching "technical" heatwave status, though less intense than the recent one. Temperatures could reach around 29C in south-east England on Thursday and Friday, with similar conditions expected on Saturday. Thunderstorms are predicted across parts of the UK throughout the week, bringing a risk of torrential downpours and potential weather warnings, especially in central and southern England and Wales over the weekend. This weather pattern follows a brief reprieve from the summer's third heatwave and occurs amid warnings from the Environment Agency about potential drought conditions in more regions. Despite the warmth, the Met Office indicates this period will be more akin to typical summer weather, with increased rainfall, unlike the highly impactful previous heatwave.
