Parts of Britain have been struck by flash floods after some areas saw more than a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.
Heavy rainfall has seen parts of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and London submerged causing widespread travel disruption and damage to properties.
As of 11.45am, 17 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – were issued for England by the Environment Agency.
Areas affected by the flood warnings include Childswickham in Worcestershire, Leighton Buzzard and Luton in Bedfordshire and parts of London including South Ruislip.
National Highways confirmed the A421 in Bedfordshire was closed in both directions between A6 Bedford and M1 J13 near Marston Moretaine due to flooding. Bedfordshire Police said it had closed off part of Dunstable High Street due to “substantial flooding”, with footage shared on social media showing cars battling high water around the Saracen’s Head pub.
The Overground and some Tube lines in London have been partly suspended. The District Line is not running between Turnham Green and Richmond, while the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines are suspended between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge.
There is no Overground service between South Acton and Richmond, and there are also severe delays on the Bakerloo line, and on the Metropolitan line between Rayners Lane and Harrow-on-the-Hill.
AFC Wimbledon and Newcastle’s Carabao Cup third-round meeting on Tuesday has been called off due to “extensive overnight flooding” at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
The Dons’ stadium in London is now closed as a result, with a rescheduled date for the tie yet to be confirmed.
Rain warnings were in place all weekend with a fresh yellow alert coming into effect at midnight to last all of Monday, covering parts of Wales, much of the south of England, the Midlands and into north-west England and Yorkshire.
An amber warning came into force at 5am and will last until 11.59pm.
It initially covered Worcester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Hull but an update from the Met Office said the warning area had shifted further south and southwest. This includes Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Buckinghamshire.
Some affected areas could see 100mm to 120mm of rain on Monday, and forecasters said there may be more warnings in the week ahead.
Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey previously told the PA news agency that Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and up towards the Wash and the Humber could see more than a month’s worth of rain falling on Monday.
Environment Agency flood duty manager Sarah Cook said “persistent heavy rain and thunderstorms” could lead to some property flooding and travel disruption.
Ongoing heavy rain across England today may cause surface water #flooding and travel disruption.
— Environment Agency (@EnvAgency) September 23, 2024
Plan ahead and sign up for flood warnings: https://t.co/P5d6Axp8Vq pic.twitter.com/M3MQ2I720G
She said: “Persistent heavy rain and thunderstorms could lead to significant surface water flooding on Monday across parts of England.
“The impacts could include localised flooding in urban areas and fast-responding catchments, including some property flooding as well as travel disruption. The risk from river flooding remains low.
“Environment Agency teams are out on the ground and ready to support local authorities in responding to surface water flooding.
“We urge people to plan their journeys carefully, follow the advice of local emergency services on the roads and not to drive through flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.
“People should check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation as well as following @EnvAgency on X, formerly Twitter, for the latest flood updates.”
A man from Northamptonshire has described the moment he saw a “wave of water” heading towards him during flooding on Sunday night.
Tim Maher and his partner Carol Findon, from Grendon, saw their two-storey home partially submerged overnight with more than a foot of water.
Mr Maher told PA: “We’ve had an awful lot of rain in recent days and some forecasters were warning we could see a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.
“I have an app on my phone which tracks river levels and at around 8.45pm it rocketed up.
“I decided to drive down to the bridge and saw the water breaking the banks and coming down the road towards me.
“I quickly turned around, drove home and put up a flood barrier we’ve got up against the door. It kept out a lot of the water but we’ve had about an inch overnight.
“We’ve had some damage to the carpets, settees and other furniture. The most difficult bit will be drying out the structure.
“We haven’t had much sleep and at least eight houses on our road have been impacted. It would be nice to get a permanent solution to this problem.”