Flood warnings and rail disruption due to Storm Bert

Flood warnings have been issued in Surrey as river levels rise due to Storm Bert.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for wind until 21:00 GMT, with gusts of up to 80km/h expected in some areas.

Authorities warned that there could be disruption to rail, road, air and ferry services, as well as damage to buildings, power outages and danger to life.

A flood warning has been issued for the Upper River Wey and Chertsey Bourne by the Environment Agency.

Officials said flooding was expected on low-lying land and roads in the Free Prae Road area of ​​Chertsey and the Tilford area.

Further rainfall is forecast over the coming days and river levels are expected to remain high and possibly rise.

The Environment Agency has appealed to the public to avoid using low lying footpaths near local watercourses.

Property flooding is not expected at this time.

Meanwhile, some Southern rail services are expected to be canceled or postponed until 10:00 on Monday due to severe weather conditions.

A fallen tree closed the line between Ashtead and Leatherhead at around 10am, causing services to Dorking to terminate or start at Epsom.

Services between Epsom and Dorking now continue to operate as usual.

All lines from Cobham and Stoke D’abernon to Oxshott were also blocked by a fallen tree.

Painshill Gardens in Cobham will be closed on Sunday due to forecast high winds, but a Festive Family Fun Day will still take place in Guildford on Sunday.

Guildford councilor Catherine Houston said as many events as possible were being moved indoors.

He added: “Everything is happening. Luckily we have some indoor areas where people can go and hopefully the rain will stop for a while and people can go out.”

The Met Office said strong winds were likely to cause “dangerous coastal conditions”.

Authorities have warned of the possibility of minor injury from flying debris and beach materials being thrown onto sea frontages, coastal roads and properties by large waves.

More than 200 flood alerts were put in place across the UK, with around 350,000 homes without power, but most have been reconnected.