More heavy rain could pose danger to life after person dies in mudslide

More heavy rain could cause a danger to life and travel disruption after a person died in a mudslide on Wednesday, the Met Office has warned.

Showers will continue to batter parts of the UK as yellow and amber warnings for rain remain in place across the UK on Thursday.

On Wednesday, North Yorkshire Police said a person died following a mudslide in Carlton-in-Cleveland at around 1.15pm.

In a statement, police said: “We can confirm that one person has sadly died as a result of the incident.

“Our thoughts are with their family and friends during this difficult time.”

The Met Office said the area had seen almost a month’s worth of rain in the past day, with 41.6mm of rain recorded over the last 24 hours in Loftus, a town 20 miles away.

Simon Partridge, a forecaster at the Met Office, said: “The average monthly rainfall for May in North Yorkshire is 57.5mm so they’ve almost had a month’s worth of rainfall today.”

Carlisle in Cumbria experienced the worst of the rainfall, with 65.6mm falling over the previous 24 hours.

The Environment Agency has issued a severe flood warning for the rivers Roe and Ive from Highbridge to Stockdalewath, south of Carlisle. The warning says flooding will be rapid due to rapidly rising water levels.

Cumbria Police said a number of properties have been affected in the Stockdalewath area, with one property evacuated.

Chief Superintendent Mick Bird said a multi-agency co-ordination group has been set up overnight to deal with localised flooding in the area.

“Emergency services have been responding throughout the night to calls for service following persistent rainfall, which has resulted in flooding in some parts of the county,” he said.

“The flooding is on a small scale and the public can be reassured that the weather forecast is expected to be much more favourable throughout today.

“We do expect some impact to travel within Cumbria with some flood water in parts of the county.”

A further 22 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, have been issued across England with one in Scotland.

Rail provider Avanti West Coast warned commuters at about 6.30am that services between Preston and Glasgow/Edinburgh are subject to cancellation due to heavy flooding on the railway between Carlisle and Lockerbie.

It said in a post on X: “All routes north of Preston are currently blocked in both directions.”

Mr Partridge said there was still “quite a long way to go” until the rain was due to stop, with wet weather expected to continue in the area until Thursday evening.

An amber warning for rain has been in place across parts of North Wales and north-west England, including Manchester and Liverpool, since midday on Wednesday.

A yellow warning for rain covers the north of England, the Midlands and north and central Wales until 6am on Thursday, while another is in place for southern and eastern Scotland until 6pm on Thursday.

Fast flowing or deep floodwater which may cause danger to life is likely, the Met Office warned.

Heavy rainfall may also cause delays and cancellations to public transport services, difficult driving conditions and power cuts, the forecaster said.

Regarding staying safe in wet weather, Mr Partridge said: “Although it may not look too bad when you leave home, it could turn much heavier once you’re out and about, so the best thing is to plan your trips and if you don’t need to go – the best advice is to try and avoid it.

“Keep an eye on your local warnings from the Environment Agency which are just as important as ours as well.”

He added that the forecast for the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend was looking “uncertain” but the weather seemed to be “getting better”.