A 57-year-old woman has died after being swept into a river in Angus in Scotland as Storm Babet batters the country.
Police Scotland said the woman’s body was recovered on Thursday afternoon at Water of Lee, Glen Esk, where a red weather alert for heavy rain is currently in place.
It comes as thousands more were left without power and facing flooding from “unprecedented” amounts of rain in east Scotland, while Babet is set to spread into northern and eastern England on Friday.
Flood warnings are in place in Scotland, as well as parts of northern England and the Midlands.
Shona Robison, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, has warned the worst impacts of the storm are yet to come.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 1.45pm on Thursday, 19 October, officers attended a report of a person having been swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk.
“Around 4pm, the body of a 57-year-old woman was recovered from the river. There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “Such sad news. My thoughts are with the family, friends and loved ones of the woman who has sadly lost her life.”
Douglas Ross, MP for Moray and MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said his “thoughts and deepest sympathies” went out to the “family and friends of the lady who has sadly lost her life”.
The Met Office warned some communities could be cut off for several days by severe flooding, while the British Geological Survey has warned the storm could also cause landslides in Scotland.
Severe flood warnings were expanded for the River Esk in Scotland, including into Aberdeenshire.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) added the villages of Logie Mill and Craigo to places at risk of flooding in Angus, as well as Brechin and nearby Finavon and Tannadice.
The village of Marykirk, Aberdeenshire, was put on high alert.
Four flood warnings have also been issued for parts of northern England and the Midlands, with Storm Babet set to sweep southwards on Friday.
Warnings that flooding is expected have been issued by the Environment Agency’s Floodline service in Sandsend, North Yorkshire; Bridlington, East Yorkshire; the Tyne estuary and in areas surrounding the River Maun in Nottinghamshire.
The agency also has 79 flood alerts, warnings that flooding is possible, in effect across the rest of England.
Angus Council, responsible for a large area in the east of Scotland north of Dundee, said residents in 335 homes in Brechin and a further 87 homes in Tannadice and Finavon will be asked to evacuate due to risk of severe flooding.
Three rest centres have been set up in the area, with people urged to take their own sleeping bags, pillows and blankets.
Fire crews and the coastguard have begun evacuating residents from the town of Brechin – knocking on residents’ doors advising them to leave the area.
Ms Robison warned Storm Babet could hit more parts of Scotland in the coming days.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, she said: “We are only at the start of this weather event – that’s really important for people to appreciate.
“There is the risk, danger and possibility of more areas being affected so we will make sure that any changes are communicated as quickly as possible.
“The services are doing their best to act as quickly as they can.”
Angus Council said schools will be shut on Friday to “ensure the safety of children, young people, parents, and school staff”.
Neighbouring Aberdeenshire Council also announced rest centres had been set up before the weather warning came into effect in the region from 6pm.
The council has also postponed funerals until next week as “it is neither safe for mourners or staff”.
The Met Office extended its red weather warning from Aberdeenshire and Angus in eastern Scotland to cover the area north of Perth and Aberfeldy on Thursday.
Around 10,000 homes in Scotland lost power due to the storm, according to the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).
The energy provider said it had restored services to 7,000 homes and engineers were “working to reconnect” around 3,000 more properties.
Mass train cancellations have been imposed by ScotRail, expected to last from Thursday until Saturday.
The storm could bring up to 220mm of rain in some areas of eastern Scotland, an amount close to the highest ever 24-hour total for a “rainfall day”, Met Office figures show.
The storm is expected to rage overnight and into the weekend, with amber warnings for wind and rain issued for parts of northern England, the Midlands and northern Wales from noon on Friday to 6am on Saturday.
But amber warnings still raise the prospect of injuries and danger to life, power cuts and damage to buildings and flooding.
A yellow warning for Northern Ireland is also in place from 3am on Friday to 9am on Saturday.
A further yellow rain warning covering the north and east of England and North Wales is also in place from midnight on Thursday to 6am on Saturday.
Storm Babet hit Ireland on Wednesday after sweeping in from the Atlantic, bringing with it heavy rainfall and causing extensive flooding in parts of the country.
Members of the Irish Defence Forces were deployed in the town of Midleton, Co Cork, in the south of Ireland, where more than 100 properties were flooded.
Cork County Council said more than a month’s worth of rain had fallen in the space of 24 hours, leading to unprecedented flooding, saturated land and high river levels across the county.
