London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 22, 2026

Storm Franklin: Flooding and evacuations as storm nears UK

Storm Franklin: Flooding and evacuations as storm nears UK

Flooding driven by heavy rain has prompted evacuations in parts of the UK as Storm Franklin approaches.

There is severe flooding in parts of Northern Ireland, while people in Yorkshire and Manchester have been forced to leave their homes for safety.

The brunt of the new storm is forecast to hit overnight.

Franklin comes days after Storm Eunice killed three people and left 1.4 million homes without power, with nearly 56,000 still to be reconnected.

The Met Office has issued two weather warnings for Sunday evening and Monday:

*  An amber warning for wind in the north of Northern Ireland from 00:00 GMT to 07:00 on Monday

*  A yellow warning for wind covering Wales, Northern Ireland, most of England and parts of south-west Scotland from 12:00 on Sunday until 13:00 on Monday

More than 140 flood warnings are in place across the north of England, with Yorkshire and Manchester the worst hit by flooding.

North Yorkshire Fire Service has been working to rescue people, posting a picture of one in progress as waters engulfed a caravan site in Knaresborough.

More than 400 homes in south Manchester are being evacuated after two severe flood warnings indicated a danger to life.

Northern Ireland has also seen severe flooding, with efforts underway to prevent rivers from bursting their banks


In Northern Ireland, heavy rain has caused severe flooding, with counties Londonderry and Tyrone the worst hit.

Efforts are also under way to prevent the Drumragh and Finn rivers from bursting their banks, with workers using pumps to try to keep the water contained.

In Shropshire, the River Severn has been threatening to burst its banks and emergency teams have erected flood barriers in Ironbridge to try to prevent the waters from reaching homes.

The runway lights at Gatwick Airport were knocked out for nearly 20 minutes by the weather at around 18:30 on Sunday evening.

The airport said the outage did not have an impact on flights - although there are some delays and cancellations because of the high winds.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said flooding was expected in several areas along the River Severn in Powys.

Eighteen flood warnings and seven alerts have also been issued across the Scottish Borders, Ayrshire, Orkney and the Western Isles by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.


Franklin is the third storm to hit the UK in a week, and follows the disruption from Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice.

High winds could cause further power cuts, transport delays and damage to properties, the Met Office has warned.

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said 55,800 properties were still without power - down from 190,000 on Saturday.

He said: "UK Power Networks (SE + E England) is receiving mutual aid from other network operators across the UK to bolster their restoration efforts."

As of Sunday afternoon, the Energy Networks Association confirmed around 56,000 homes still had no power, including 21,500 in South West England, 17,000 in South East England and 12,000 in South England.

It added that around 27,000 homes had been reconnected so far over the course of Sunday.

Electricity provider Western Power Distribution (WPD) said Friday saw the most power cuts the South West has ever experienced in a 24-hour period.

Storm Eunice tore through the UK on Friday bringing widespread disruption as trees were toppled, trains were cancelled, schools closed as well as affecting power supplies.

A female passenger in her 30s died in Highgate, north London after a tree fell on a car. The driver, a man in his 30s, was taken to hospital.

A man died in Merseyside after debris hit the windscreen of a car he was a passenger in.

In Alton, Hampshire, two men were in a pickup truck when it was crushed by a falling tree. The passenger died at the scene while the driver was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The O2 arena in London will remain closed until Friday after part of its roof was ripped off in Storm Eunice's high winds.

Rapper Dave was forced to postpone his gigs and will announce new dates in the next 48 hours, a statement from the O2 said.

Meanwhile UB40 has been rescheduled to 25 February, Simply Red to 2 and 3 March, The Lumineers to 4 March and Davido to 5 March, the venue said.

Meteorologist Becky Mitchell said this was the first time the Met Office had recorded three major storms in a week since the naming system was introduced seven years ago.

She told the PA news agency: "At the moment we've got a really active jet stream, which is why we're seeing so many storms track right towards the UK.

"We had Dudley on Wednesday, Eunice on Friday and Franklin today."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Prince Harry and Co-Claimants Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million Toward Daily Mail Publisher’s Legal Costs
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Plan Return to Britain With Their Children
UK Court Ruling Threatens Deportation Plans for Potential Trafficking Victims to Albania
Kemi Badenoch Presses UK Government for Decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw Oil Fields
UK Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Calls for Ban on Goods from Occupied West Bank
Andy Burnham Government to Place Civil Servants Directly in English Mayoral Offices
Met Office Warns Major El Niño Could Bring Stormier, Wetter Autumn to UK
UK Economy Gains Unexpected Momentum Ahead of Andy Burnham Government’s First Budget
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
UK Markets Watch US National Debt Surpass Forty Trillion Dollars
UK Broadcasters Urge Government to Invest in Digital Participation and Broadband
CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life Launch Two Billion Pound Pension Risk Transfer Venture
UK Private Sector Productivity Growth Accelerates in Second Quarter
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Condemns Israeli E1 Settlement Tender
UK Watchdog Investigates Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Hidden Fees
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Plan Move to Private Home Outside London
UK Retail Sentiment Improves as Summer Spending Boosts Consumer Confidence
UK Aid Cuts Draw Warnings From Charities Over Humanitarian Consequences
UK Financial Conduct Authority Issues Guidance for Motor Finance Redress Scheme
UK Met Office Launches Aviation Programme to Reduce Climate Impact of Persistent Contrails
Former UK Civil Service Chief Received Record 500,000 Pound Severance Payment
West Midlands to Bring Bus Network Under Public Franchising Model
UK Government Drops Plan to Relax Affordable Housing Requirements After Backlash
UK Reaffirms Military Support for Ukraine Despite Russian Hybrid Warfare Threats
UK Technology Sector Expands Nearly 8 Percent as Digital Industry Outpaces Wider Economy
UK Drought Threatens Harvests Across England and Wales as Food Inflation Risks Persist
UK Government Pledges 442 Million Pounds to End Rough Sleeping by Christmas
UK Government Signals Willingness to Reconsider Digital Services Tax Amid US Tariff Threats
×