Storm Jorge: New weather warnings bring fresh misery to residents of flood-hit Shropshire

It comes after a yellow warning of snow and ice was issued for today for much of the Midlands.

The Met Office has now named Storm Jorge and issued a yellow warning for wind for Shropshire and the West Midlands on Saturday, while a yellow warning for rain has been issued for most of Wales.

The yellow warning for rain for parts of Wales on Friday and overnight into Saturday may lead to further disruption for recently flood-hit communities.

The Met office says homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings and fast flowing or deep floodwater is also possible, causing a danger to life.

Some communities in Wales could be cut off by flooded roads and there could be possible power cuts and a loss of other services to some homes and businesses.

Strong winds are expected to move northeast across the UK on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning as a yellow warning is issued.

The Met Office said it will cause some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport as well as high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges.

It also said that some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will possibly be effected by spray or large waves.

People are advised to check train and bus routes before they travel at the weekend ahead of the weather warnings.

Meanwhile, further wet weather is expected to cause disruption today.

A “swathe of wet weather” from the South West is due to push in on Thursday, when two yellow weather warnings of snow have been issued by the Met Office.

Meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “It’s not just the snow, there’s going to be a fair bit of rainfall mixed in with it.

“It’s not going to be large amounts, between 10-15mm of rain in some places, but it could be falling on heavily saturated areas.”

Flooding along parts of the River Severn, which remained close to its highest levels in some areas, is likely until at least Sunday, the Environment Agency said.

A severe flood warning covering the river at Wharfage remains in place. Yesterday police could be seen knocking on doors along the riverside to ensure that residents living on Wharfage had left their homes.

Temporary flood defences had been pushed back towards a pub and other businesses, sparking fears that the defences could be fully breached.

Residents in the Worcestershire town of Bewdley were forced to evacuate earlier after the river spilled over barriers at Beales Corner.

England has received over 200% of its average February rainfall, according to the Environment Agency, with some areas experiencing a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.

Toby Willison, executive director of operations at the Environment Agency, said: “Our operational teams continue to work night and day to protect communities alongside the River Severn, which is experiencing record levels.

“River levels will remain exceptionally high on the Severn for some time and communities, in particular Shrewsbury, Bewdley, Bridgnorth and Ironbridge, should prepare for potentially ongoing severe flooding.”

As the Environment Agency said that flooding is expected to continue into the weekend across parts of England, Boris Johnson was criticised by Jeremy Corbyn over his “silent” response to flooding across the country.

But the Prime Minister said he was “proud” of the response by ministers following the recent storms and defended the Government’s investment in flood defences.

Operational teams have put up more than 6km of temporary flood barriers across the country and flood defences have protected more than 34,184 properties over the last week.

In East Yorkshire, residents were being evacuated from the village of East Cowick after the River Aire broke its banks.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council said in a statement its staff along with teams from the Coastguard and Humberside Fire & Rescue were going to door-to-door in the village, where sandbags have been deployed to protect around 60 properties.

East Cowick was the council’s “main area of concern” but it had also arranged sandbags to protect 100 properties in Snaith, where residents were advised to evacuate from their homes on Wednesday afternoon as water from the Aire and surrounding washlands continued to rise.

Flood warnings remain in place in the Snaith area, where locals have criticised the lack of help they have received from the authorities.

Snaith Priory Church has been opened as a rest centre due to the flooding, providing food, drinks and beds.