Police searching for a missing man find a body in the River Kent near Kendal, in Cumbria
Met Office confirms record rainfall fell on Cumbria in 24 hours - 341.4mm
As many as 5,000 homes in Northern England and southern Scotland flooded
Power has been lost to 42,000 properties in the Lancaster area and more than 1,400 in Cumbria are also without power
Schools closed and hospital services cancelled. Road and rail travel also disrupted
David Cameron has visited the flood-hit region and has chaired an emergency Cobra meeting
Image source, GettySupt Mark Pannone mentioned bridges and indeed we know a number have collapsed completely.
The B5295 bridge at Braithwaite, the Fitz Footbridge in Keswick, and Pooley Bridge in the Eden District have all been washed away.
Other bridges, including the one above in Cockermouth, are awaiting structural inspections.
BBC News Channel
Supt Mark Pannone, from Cumbria Police, says 4,000 to 5,000 homes have been flooded in the county. Hundreds of people have been rescued.
"Recovery is going to take a long time," he said. "We have some big disruption over the rail network and the road network. In Kendal, we have four out of the five bridges in the town that have had to be closed. So there's significant damage throughout the county."
He urged people not to drive through flood water:
Quote MessageYou're going to have to be dealt with by the emergency services, which is going to stretch us further".
The latest update, external from power company Electricity North West says 45,000 homes in Lancaster, Morecambe and the surrounding area have now had their supplies reconnected. That leaves another 10,000 still cut off.
Steve Cox, Electricity North West incident manager, said: "While we still have a significant amount of work to do to fully repair the substation, our teams have worked round the clock and done enough to restore power to a large number of customers earlier than expected."Rather than wait any longer for the full repair and restoration of the site, we have chosen to provide power at the earliest opportunity."
2,657 properties remain without power in Cumbria.
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Norman Smith
Assistant political editor
David Cameron will chair a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee at 08:00 GMT. Alongside reports on the current state of the flooding and the work of the rescue services, it will also consider future flood defences and possible funding. Ministers will also consider the response of the insurance industry.
In a statement on Sunday night, the prime minister said:
Quote MessageThe thoughts of the whole country will be with the people in Cumbria and the North West who have suffered so terribly from the devastating storms this weekend. The government is doing everything it can to help those who have seen their homes flooded - and to try and prevent further damage. I would like to pay a huge tribute to all those emergency workers and troops who have worked tirelessly to respond to this weekend's events. There has been a tremendous response from local communities too, with people taking in families affected by the flooding."
Image source, GettyThe Met Office has a number of yellow, external "be aware" warnings in place for heavy rain in the north west of England, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland.
At the moment, the warnings apply from Monday until Thursday, but forecasters do point out that the rain "will neither be as heavy nor as prolonged" as in recent days.
Nevertheless, they say there is the possibility of further localised flooding and disruption to transport.
Rail services have been badly disrupted by the storm, with no services running between England and Scotland via Preston. They're expected to remain suspended on Monday and Tuesday. There are problems elsewhere on the trains, including on trans-Pennine routes, so for more details, go to the National Rail Enquiries website., external
Image source, Getty ImagesCarlisle was hit particularly hard over the weekend and the Army was called in to help evacuate people from their homes. The city is no stranger to flooding, having suffered previous crises in 2005 and 2009. Flood defences built after those incidents were unable to cope with the rainfall brought by Storm Desmond - it's thought that Saturday saw about 350mm fall in one day, a total which would, if verified, be a new record.
We'll continue to bring you updates today on the aftermath of Storm Desmond. Cumbria has been worst hit by flooding, although parts of Lancashire and southern Scotland have also been affected.
- Thousands of homes are still without power after a substation in Lancaster flooded - Electricity North West hopes to reconnect all customers by early evening on Monday
- More than 30 schools are closed, external in Cumbria, and Lancaster University has cancelled teaching for the rest of term after losing power across much of the campus
- Clinics and non-urgent operations have also been cancelled at a number of hospitals in the region
- Nearly 50 severe flood warnings, external - indicating risk to life - remain in place in northern England
The rain in Cumbria at the moment will be fairly short-lived, says BBC Weather's Matt Taylor. Some further patchy rain and drizzle is expected on Monday morning.
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One family from Newby Bridge in Cumbria battled the flood waters to make it to hospital just in time... No news on whether he'll be named after the storm!
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Carlisle resident Chris McGough described returning to his house to find it waist-deep in water.
Quote MessageIt was devastating. I mean a lot of the stuff that we've got in the house - we only moved in two years ago - and some of it's brand new or as good as brand new. When you look at all the money you have spent, all the hours you work, and you know we don't exactly get paid an awful lot... It's hard to swallow really."
RSPCA flood teams have been working all weekend alongside the other agencies rescuing animals and people.
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Image source, Getty ImagesProvisional figures suggest more than 340mm of rain fell in 24 hours in the Lake District. The current record is 316.4mm of rain over the same time period at Seathwaite, Cumbria, in 2009.
Official figures show Shap in Cumbria to have the highest level of rain fall
Lancaster University has still not had power restored.
"As a result the decision has been made to cancel teaching for next week until the end of term," a university spokesman said.
For the full statement, click here, external.
Image source, Ben FrekeThe Great Hall at Lancaster University being used as a shelter
Students at Lancaster University were forced to use a hall on campus as a shelter, after student lodgings had to be evacuated.
Computer science student Ben Freke, who is in his final year at Lancaster, took the above picture.
He said: "At 11pm Saturday night the power went out on campus.
"The emergency lighting came on but this morning we didn't have power.
"...we had to evacuate halls of residence by 4pm. We just had a couple of hours to pack our things."
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Electricity North West engineers have restored power to 24,000 homes since Saturday morning.
Also:
- Power has been restored to 11,000 homes in Lancaster by generator
- 4,000 more homes in Lancaster expected to be restored by first light tomorrow
-Majority of remaining 40,000 homes in Lancaster area expected to be restored by tomorrow evening
Dr Craig Melrose, interim medical director for NHS England North Cumbria and North East said: "Local NHS services have taken the difficult decision to cancel some services across the county due to the major incident that has been declared.
"This decision has not been taken lightly and as soon as weather and road conditions, and staffing levels have improved, services will be restored to ensure patients receive their appointments and treatment."
Hospital trusts affected include:
- University Hospital Morecambe Bay Trust - All routine outpatient appointments at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, Westmorland General Hospital and the Queen Victoria Hospital in Morecambe, are cancelled for Monday.
- North Cumbria University Hospital Trust - At the Cumberland Infirmary, outpatient appointments will be cancelled tomorrow. Appointments for inpatient surgery at the West Cumberland Hospital may also be affected.
The government is doing all it can to help communities caught up in the devastation left by Storm Desmond, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.
The PM will chair a meeting of the government's Cobra contingencies committee on Monday to co-ordinate Whitehall's response to flooding.
"The thoughts of the whole country will be with the people in Cumbria and the North West who have suffered so terribly from the devastating storms this weekend," he said.
Quote MessageThe government is doing everything it can to help those who have seen their homes flooded - and to try and prevent further damage. I would like to pay a huge tribute to all those emergency workers and troops who have worked tirelessly to respond to this weekend's events."
David Cameron, Prime Minister