Crews on standby for heavy rain 'major incident'
BBCEmergency teams have said they are on standby for a "major incident" as torrential rain hits Cumbria.
The Met Office has issued an amber warning of rain between 06:00 GMT on Sunday and 18:00 on Monday.
It means areas such as Workington, Whitehaven, Cockermouth, Keswick, Ambleside and Windermere could see fast-flowing or deep floodwater, causing a danger to life.
Cumbria Police warned of difficult driving conditions, wider travel disruption, possible power outages and potential flooding of homes and businesses. Meanwhile, Network Rail has cancelled a number of services across the region.
Cumbria has 14 flood alerts in place across the region but more than 200mm (8in) of rain could fall in some places, particularly in the western parts of the region, the Met Office said.
Rail operator Avanti West Coast warned that services north of Preston were likely to be affected, while Network Rail advised people not to travel in the Cumbria area.
Simon Butterworth, safety manager at Network Rail, said a number of services across Cumbria have been cancelled on Sunday through to Monday, and urged passengers to check before they travel.
Trains cancelled
He said: "We have taken action to withdraw the majority of services throughout Cumbria through to 18:00 GMT on Monday in direct response to the Met Office warning."
No Northern services will run on the following routes in both directions:
- Carlisle to Whitehaven
- Carlisle to Skipton
- Corkickle to Barrow-in-Furness
- Barrow-in-Furness to Preston
- Windermere to Oxenholme Lake District
- Carnforth to Skipton
- Lancaster to Morecambe
Egremont town councillor David Wright said: "Touch wood - nothing drastic happens today but we've got to be vigilant of the river levels."
He also said he hoped that a recent flood alleviation scheme would mean "nothing significant would happen" but added that the ground was "completely saturated" with surrounding areas being "hammered with rain".
Stewart Mounsey, deputy director for operation catchment services at the Environment Agency, told BBC Radio Cumbria there has already been 150mm (6in) of rain in the past 24 hours.
He said: "We are seeing a lot of rain over the western Lakes, less so in the Eden valley and south Lakes but we have still got quite a lot of rain to come over the next 24 to 36 hours.
"We will see high river levels right across Cumbria, our focus at the moment is Cockermouth and Egremont but we will also see wide-spread surface water flooding."
'Check on relatives'
Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association urged people to "be aware" and not to drive on flooded roads and not to go around barricades.
Cockermouth Emergency Response Group urged people in flood risk areas to make sure emergency packs were up to date.
Keswick Flood Action Group also posted on Facebook that "Sunday morning through until early Monday evening is a real cause for concern for us and everyone is getting prepared".
Borrowdale Christmas Market, which was due to run on Sunday, has been cancelled "for everyone's safety".
Ch Supt Carl Patrick, of Cumbria Police, asked people to ensure they were prepared should power outages occur and to check on vulnerable relatives, friends or neighbours ahead of the bad weather.
Paul RathboneCumberland Council said agencies across Cumbria had "declared themselves on standby for a major incident ahead of heavy and persistent rainfall forecast".
Westmorland and Furness Council said its highways service "have increased resources on standby" ready to respond to flooding on the roads.
Gulley wagons will also be deployed to tackle any highways flooding caused by over capacity drains or standing water issues, the local authority said.
"With over 200mm of rain forecast and the ground already saturated from recent rainfall, we are expecting localised flooding and surface water," a spokesperson added.
