Britain faces more floods as hundreds evacuated

Britain was bracing for more torrential rain on Wednesday as hundreds of people spent the night away from their flooded homes following two days of heavy downpours, AFP reports. More than 300 properties were flooded Tuesday, many close to England's northeast coast, as some areas received more than a month's average rainfall in 24 hours and the historic market town of Morpeth in Northumberland was swamped. More than 80 flood warnings were in place across the country, mostly in the northeast, plus 139 less serious flood alerts. Water levels were set to continue rising along the Severn river and Ouse river in Yorkshire, according to the Environment Agency. Flooding caused severe disruption to roads and railway lines across the north of England and Wales on Tuesday, including the East Coast Mainline which links London with Leeds, York and Newcastle. "An unusually deep area of low pressure for this time of year will continue to bring heavy rain and strong winds to parts of the UK for the next day or so," Martin Young, chief forecaster at national body the Met Office, said Tuesday. "The rain will gradually ease away from Scotland, but further heavy rain is expected across parts of Wales and southern England where up to 40 millimetres (1.6 inches) of rain may fall locally in places over the next 24 hours." More than 100 vehicles were trapped for several hours on the A1 road in northern England because of flooding, with parts of the road -- which runs from London to Edinburgh -- remaining closed, the BBC reported. The weather was set to return to "fairly standard autumn weather" on Thursday, the Met Office said, warning the public to remain alert in the meantime and avoid floodwaters.