UK weather: Further heavy rain could cause danger to life after mudslide death
23 May 2024, 00:45 | Updated: 23 May 2024, 07:28
Further heavy rain could cause a danger to life and travel disruption after a mudslide resulted in one death on Wednesday, the Met Office has warned.
Downpours will continue across parts of the UK as yellow and amber warnings for rain remain in place across the country on Thursday.
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."
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 nearly a month of rain in the past day, with 41.6mm recorded over the last 24 hours in Loftus, a town 20 miles away.
Carlisle in Cumbria experienced the worst of the rainfall, with 65.6mm falling over the previous 24 hours.
Mr Partridge said there was still "quite a long way to go" until the rain would stop, with showers expected to continue in the area until Thursday evening.
An amber warning for rain is in place across parts of North Wales and north-west England, including Manchester and Liverpool, until midday on Thursday.
A yellow rain warning covers the north of England, the Midlands and north and central Wales until midday, while another is in place for southern and eastern Scotland until 6pm and northern parts until 10am.
The Environment Agency has about 20 flood warnings - indicating flooding is expected - and 116 flood alerts in place across England, suggesting floods are possible.
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Fast flowing or deep floodwater which may cause danger to life is likely, the Met Office warned.
Persistent rainfall may also cause delays and cancellations to public transport services, difficult driving conditions and power cuts.
Mr Partridge advised: "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 "uncertain" but the weather seemed to be "getting better".
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