UK flooding: major incident declared in the Midlands with motorways closed after heavy rain in southern England

Flooding in areas of southern England has closed motorways and led to a major incident being declared after heavy rainfall in the region continued.

Nottinghamshire County Council has declared a major incident "due to rising levels along the River Trent", with forecasts predicting that peaks in the river could “come close to the highest levels on record from the year 2000”. Officials advised that those who lived in flood risk areas should prepare for evacuation.

In a statement, the council said: “Key tributaries which feed in to the river Trent, including the river Derwent, the river Soar and the river Dove, have already reached their peaks and high water levels will now pass down the Trent, which is likely to lead to the flooding to properties and roads. Residents who live in the flood risk areas are being asked to ensure they have preparations in place in case they are asked to evacuate. Councils, emergency services and the Environment Agency have been providing emergency support to communities impacted and will continue to provide support across the county.”

A party boat on the River Thames in London was also sunk, with the boat operator stating that "likely it sunk because of weather conditions". The boat, which acts as a floating bar and nightclub, was not in operation at the time.

Heavy rainfall has come in the days following Storm Henk's landfall, meaning that already-saturated land is once again being hit by a deluge and is prone to flooding. The weather has also caused travel chaos for some.

Motorways across the country have been closed as a result, including the M27 in Hampshire overnight. There was also disruption to rail travel.

Great Western Railway (GWR) advised commuters not to travel by rail on Thursday afternoon due to potential flooding. The rail operator added that Network Rail had identified “key sites in Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall as being at risk of flooding”.

GWR also said that "most at risk" areas included sites between Swindon and Bristol Temple Meads via Chippenham and Bath Spa, Newton Abbot and Plymouth, Exeter and Tiverton Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare, and Taunton and Westbury.

South Western Railway (SWR) also said that "extreme rainfall" would impact its services from Thursday afternoon. SWR said: “Later in the evening, there will likely be a significant knock-on impact on any services which serve these areas, meaning further disruption for the rest of the day”.

Yellow weather warnings for rain remain in place today, with the Met Office putting the warning in place until 3am on Friday January 5. The rainfall is expected to move in a north-east direction across the south of the country.