Calmer weather follows storm chaos

12 April 2012

Calmer weather is expected after heavy rain and high winds buffeted the country on Wednesday.

A five-year-old girl was swept to her death in a swollen river and a workman sitting in a van was crushed to death by a tree which fell in high winds.

The youngster was walking with her family near the banks of the River Neet in Stratton, near Bude, on the north Cornwall coast, when she was caught in a "massive downpour".

The man died and two of his colleagues were injured in the van near Clapham Common, south London, as winds gusted up to 45mph.

Flood warnings remained in place for three rivers in Devon and Cornwall.

Dozens of homes were flooded in Fife, Scotland, as householders were deluged with up to four feet of water.

Five people, including a young girl, were rescued from their vehicles after becoming trapped in flood water at Airdrie railway station in North Lanarkshire, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service said.

They became stuck following a series of "torrential downpours".

Clean-up efforts are likely to be hampered by further rain during Thursday, but forecasters said it would not be as heavy.

There will be rain in Northern England, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland. Parts of England and Wales will also see showers but the wind will be calmer than on Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to be between 17 and 20 degrees C.

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