
UK summer holidays set to get off to a wet start
Two new yellow warnings include one for rain covering Wales and the South West of England from Saturday evening until Sunday night, and another for thunderstorms in Northern Ireland on Saturday afternoon.
Existing yellow warnings are in place for most of England until Saturday evening and for Eastern Scotland from Saturday afternoon until Sunday lunchtime.
An amber alert for London and parts of the South and South East of England was active earlier on Saturday, marking the first such warning for London since January.
Chief Met Office meteorologist Andy Page advised that intense rainfall and thunderstorms will impact parts of the UK, urging people to stay updated, especially with summer holidays beginning.
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Intense rains lash China swelling waterways, rivers; landslide kills four
HONG KONG, July 28 (Reuters) - Swollen rivers, waterways and reservoirs across China exacerbated flooding and landslides on Monday which killed at least four people, as authorities warned of more intense rains and heightened disaster risks in coming days. Forty one rivers across the country have flooded, CCTV said, citing China's Ministry of Water Resources. The Ministry said it had issued flood warnings for small and midsize rivers and mountain torrents. Heavy rains intensified around Beijing and surrounding provinces on Monday, including those in central China such as Hunan and northern Inner Mongolia. Four people died in a landslide in northern Hebei and eight people are missing. In the suburban area of Miyun in Beijing, more than 4,400 people have been resettled after flash floods and landslides floored many villages, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Images circulated on China's Wechat app showed areas of Miyun where cars and trucks were floating on a flooded road where water levels had risen so high that it had submerged part of a residential building. Electricity cuts are also affecting more than 10,000 people, in the area, CCTV said. Northern China has seen record precipitation in recent years, exposing densely populated cities, including Beijing, to flood risks. Some scientists link the increased rainfall in China's usually arid north to global warming. China's Central Meteorological Observatory said that heavy rainfall would continue to drench northern China over the next three days. Beijing issued its highest level flood alert on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said. The storms are part of the broader pattern of extreme weather across China due to the East Asian monsoon, which has caused disruptions in the world's second-largest economy. Xiwanzi Village in Shicheng Town, near Miyun Reservoir, was severely affected, CCTV said on Monday with an additional 100 villagers transferred to a primary school for shelter. It comes after the maximum flood peak flow into the Miyun reservoir reached a record high of 6550 cubic meters per second, Beijing authorities said on Sunday. Two high-risk road sections have been sealed in Beijing's Pinggu district, authorities said. In neighbouring Shanxi province, videos from state media showed roads inundated by strong gushing currents and submerged vegetation including crops and trees. Shaanxi province, home to China's historic city of Xian, also issued flash flood disaster risk warnings on Monday. Authorities are carrying out search and rescue work across cities including Datong, where a driver in a Ford car has lost contact while driving in the floods, the People's Daily reported. Two were dead and two missing in Hebei province, CCTV said on Sunday morning. Overnight rain dumped a record 145 mm (5.7 inches) per hour on Fuping in the industrial city of Baoding. In Hunan's Liudiequan grand canyon in Chunkou town, water rose so rapidly on Sunday that a tourist was swept away, CCTV said. China's National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday that it was urgently arranging 50 million yuan ($6.98 million) to support Hebei. The funds would be used to repair damaged roads and bridges, water conservancy embankments, schools and hospitals in the disaster area. The NDRC said it was "promoting the restoration of normal life and production as soon as possible." Chinese authorities closely monitor extreme rainfall and severe flooding are, as they challenge the country's ageing flood defences, threaten to displace millions and wreak havoc on China's $2.8 trillion agricultural sector. ($1 = 7.1675 Chinese yuan renminbi)


Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Four killed, eight missing as heavy rain soaks northern China
HONG KONG, July 28 (Reuters) - Heavy rain intensified around Beijing and nearby provinces on Monday, with four people killed in a landslide in northern Hebei and eight people missing, as authorities warned of intensifying conditions and heightened disaster risks in the coming days. Authorities relocated more than 4,400 people as colossal rain continued to pound the suburban area of Miyun in Beijing causing flash floods and landslides, impacting many villages, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Images circulated on China's Wechat app showed areas of Miyun where cars and trucks were floating on a flooded road where water levels had risen so high that it had submerged part of a residential building. Electricity cuts are also affecting more than 10,000 people, in the area, CCTV said. Northern China has seen record precipitation in recent years, exposing densely populated cities, including Beijing, to flood risks. Some scientists link the increased rainfall in China's usually arid north to global warming. China's Central Meteorological Observatory said that heavy rainfall would continue to drench northern China over the next three days. Beijing issued its highest level flood alert on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said. The storms are part of the broader pattern of extreme weather across China due to the East Asian monsoon, which has caused disruptions in the world's second-largest economy. Xiwanzi Village in Shicheng Town, near Miyun Reservoir, was severely affected, CCTV said on Monday with an additional 100 villagers transferred to a primary school for shelter. It comes after the maximum flood peak flow into the Miyun reservoir reached a record high of 6550 cubic meters per second, Beijing authorities said on Sunday. In neighbouring Shanxi province, videos from state media showed roads inundated by strong gushing currents and submerged vegetation including crops and trees. Shaanxi province, home to China's historic city of Xian, also issued flash flood disaster risk warnings on Monday. In Beijing's Pinggu District, two high-risk road sections have been sealed, authorities said. Authorities are carrying out search and rescue work across cities including Datong, where a driver in a Ford car has lost contact while driving in the floods, the People's Daily reported. China's Water Resources Ministry has issued targeted flood warnings to 11 provinces and regions, including Beijing and neighbouring Hebei, for floods from small and midsize rivers and mountain torrents. Two were dead and two missing in Hebei province, CCTV said on Sunday morning. Overnight rain dumped a record 145 mm (5.7 inches) per hour on Fuping in the industrial city of Baoding. China's National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday that it was urgently arranging 50 million yuan ($6.98 million) to support Hebei. The funds would be used to repair damaged roads and bridges, water conservancy embankments, schools and hospitals in the disaster area. The NDRC said it was "promoting the restoration of normal life and production as soon as possible." Chinese authorities closely monitor extreme rainfall and severe flooding are, as they challenge the country's ageing flood defences, threaten to displace millions and wreak havoc on China's $2.8 trillion agricultural sector. ($1 = 7.1675 Chinese yuan renminbi)


BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Great Northern trains halted by shrinking peat affecting tracks
Rail services are being disrupted as engineers stabilise tracks affected by the ground moving in recent hot Rail said peat soil under the Fen Line between Ely in Cambridgeshire and King's Lynn in Norfolk had shrunk, causing the track to drop and become apologised to passengers, blaming the problem on "the driest spring in more than 50 years".Buses will replace trains on Great Northern services from 21:00 BST on Monday until Friday morning. The following Great Northern services will be affected by the work:The last train to King's Lynn will be the 19:39 service from London King's CrossThe last train from King's Lynn will be the 20:42 service to London King's CrossThe first service to depart King's Lynn each morning will be the 05:14 service to London King's Cross Network Rail said the "urgent late-night engineering work" was needed to improve the condition of the track, and while speed restrictions were in place to keep trains running safely, services sometimes needed to be amended or reduced because of the longer journey times. "The aim of the work being carried out by Network Rail on the Fen Line is to try to limit the effects on Great Northern services," it said."Engineers will use machines called tampers to lift the track, push ballast underneath and create a solid foundation so that trains can run smoothly."This type of work was already planned... with train services finishing earlier, but tamping will now be taking place for around an extra hour each night to make the maximum impact."Network Rail apologised to passengers for the inconvenience, but added: "In the last two years we have dropped 25,800 tonnes of ballast on this part of the line to try to minimise the effects of peat shrinkage, but an exceptionally dry spring this year has meant that it hasn't been possible to eliminate track issues." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.