Summary

  • Man dies after being swept away in fast-flowing water

  • The man was caught in water from a brook near Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, that had breached a road

  • Bewdley flooded as it became too dangerous to install defences, the Environment Agency confirms

  • A woman was rescued after being swept 100m downstream when she got out of her car in a Staffordshire ford

  • Many roads are impassable because of flooding and there is major rail disruption

  • More than a dozen schools were closed, mainly in Worcestershire

  1. GP surgery closes as river risespublished at 13:18 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    Greet Community Health CentreImage source, NHS Birmingham and Solihull

    A GP practice in Birmingham has closed temporarily.

    NHS Birmingham and Solihull said the closure of Greet Community Health Centre on Perry Road was a precautionary measure due to the levels of the River Cole rising.

    It added flood barriers were being set up to protect the building.

  2. Road closures in Worcestershirepublished at 13:07 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    Worcestershire County Council Highways & Travel has said the following roads are closed:

    • Yew Tree Lane, Frankley
    • Stocks Lane, Newland
    • Hope House Lane, Martley
    • A449 closed between Ombersley & Claines
    • A451 Great Witley
    • Alcester Road, Lickey End
    • Paper Mill Drive, Redditch
    • Woodpecker Close, Alvechurch
    • Storrage Lane, Alvechurch
    • A38 Bromsgrove Eastern Bypass closed by Morrisons
  3. Weather Watchers' soggy snapspublished at 12:57 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    Flooded country laneImage source, snaphappydave

    Some great photos from our BBC Weather Watchers today in Kinver, Gobowen and Halesowen.

    Find out how you can join in, or just enjoy thee photos here.

    You can also email your photos to us or share on Facebook , externalor Instagram, external.

    FrogImage source, Beefy
    DogImage source, rcolby
  4. Difficult conditions in Coventrypublished at 12:47 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    Drivers continue to face difficult conditions in Coventry.

    Holbrook Way has lots of standing water on the road, which is only getting worse.

    Holbrook Way
  5. Huge amount of rainfall recorded at weather stationpublished at 12:37 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    Rebecca Wood
    BBC Midlands Today weather presenter

    Storm Babet has brought significant rainfall for the West Midlands through the past 24 hours.

    If we take the Met Office weather station at Shawbury, in Shropshire, for example, 43mm of rainfall has been recorded since 15:00 yesterday – that’s more than an inch-and-a-half, and 16mm of that fell in three hours this morning.

    For context, the average monthly rainfall there for this time of year is 68mm.

    There are still two Met Office weather warnings in place across the region - an Amber and a Yellow one - with heavy rain expected to continue across the north Midlands through the afternoon.

    It will ease tonight and into the weekend though.

  6. Telford roads affected by floodspublished at 12:28 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    A few more roads in Telford affected by flooding:

    • Dale End, Ironbridge
    • Ketley, Waterloo Road
    • Clunbury Road, Wellington
    • Rampart Way
    • Walcott B4394
    • Nr Cock Hotel, Wellington
    • Brunel Road Malinslee entrance

    Telford and Wrekin Council said its teams were out closing roads where necessary and dealing with blocked drains.

  7. Flooded rail lines turned into riverpublished at 12:20 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    Dramatic footage of flooded tracks at Wood End station, in Warwickshire, has been shared by Network Rail.

    Media caption,

    Wood End Station under water

  8. Bin collections could be affectedpublished at 12:06 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    Shropshire Council is one of several local authorities warning that bin collections could be affected today by flooded roads.

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  9. Schools closing early due to the severe weatherpublished at 11:53 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    A few more schools in Worcestershire are closing early or allowing parents to pick children up early:

    • Flyford Flavell Primary School, in Pershore, is closing at 12:00
    • Fladbury CE First School, in Pershore, says parents can pick children up from 12:30
    • Upper Arley CE Primary School remains open, but is not allowing any other pupils in due to conditions in the area
  10. Deep floods around Clee Hillpublished at 11:44 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    Clee Hill to Ludlow roadImage source, Melissa Romeo-Cadwallader

    We've mentioned quite a few roads across the area are open, but are tricky to pass in places.

    The road from Clee Hill to Ludlow, in south Shropshire, seems to be one of those.

    Melissa Romeo-Cadwallader said the route down Angel bank was OK for 4x4s, but not for other cars.

  11. Road flooded in Staffordpublished at 11:35 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    Sarah Robertson
    BBC Radio Stoke

    This image gives an idea of how deep the water is around this petrol station in Stafford.

    Stafford
  12. More than 200 calls to fire servicepublished at 11:23 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    Fire engineImage source, Shropshire Fire Service
    Image caption,

    Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has also been working in Herefordshire and Worcestershire

    Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has received "over 200 calls in the last couple of hours," Station Manager Craig Jackson said.

    Many of these calls relate to flooded basements and cars stuck in water.

    One car has been rescued from a weir, Mr Jackson added with all passengers safe.

    The fire service is also working across the border in Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

  13. The major flooding that led to closure of M54published at 11:14 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    We reported earlier the M54 is blocked in both directions between Telford and Wellington.

    This was the view on the motorway earlier captured by Lee Bryant.

    Media caption,

    M54 motorists caught up in floods

  14. Railway blocked between Wolverhampton and Shrewsburypublished at 11:05 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    Train sign

    The railway is blocked between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury due to severe flooding, Birmingham New Street station said.

    It encouraged people to check National Rail Enquiries for the latest journey information.

    Workers are on site near Wellington station where the line is currently submerged.

    Staff have also been responding to flooding at Bloxwich which is affecting all West Midlands Railway trains between Walsall and Rugeley Trent Valley.

  15. Rail tracks submergedpublished at 10:57 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    John Bray
    BBC News

    This is why we're seeing numerous cancellations on the trains this morning.

    Media caption,

    Footage shows rails under water at Bloxwich near Walsall

  16. Traffic lights fail in Edgbastonpublished at 10:48 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    National Express West Midlands said a number of services may be delayed after traffic lights failed on Hagley Road, at its junction with Monument Road in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

    There's congestion on the approach and the 9, 12/A, 13/A,126, X8 and X10 may be delayed.

    It asked passengers to allow more time to travel

    National Express Bus was accepting rail tickets on all services until further notice, it said earlier.

  17. More on school closures across the regionpublished at 10:38 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    These are the eight school closures we're now aware of, in many cases due to flooding on surrounding roads:

    • Bayton CE Primary School, in Bewdley, Worcestershire
    • Birchensale Middle School, in Redditch, Worcestershire
    • Crowle CE First School, in Pershore, Worcestershire
    • Feckenham CE First School, in Redditch, Worcestershire
    • Himbleton CE First School, in Pershore, Worcestershire
    • Eckington CE First School, in Evesham
    • St Peter's Catholic Secondary School, in Solihull
    • Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, in Princethorpe, Warwickshire
    • Brockton CE Primary School, in Much Wenlock, Shropshire
  18. Weather warning in place until Saturdaypublished at 10:27 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    MapImage source, Met Office

    A Met Office yellow warning is in place for the West Midlands region until 06:00 BST on Saturday.

    It said fast flowing and deep flood water was possible in some areas, as well as difficult driving conditions.

    Emergency services are encouraging drivers to take extra care, particularly where there's standing water.

  19. M54 shuts in both directionspublished at 10:16 British Summer Time 20 October 2023
    Breaking

    The M54 in Shropshire has been closed in both directions between junctions six and seven, at Telford and Wellington, due to floods.

    Two other road closures in Shropshire we know about are:

    • A4117 from Cleobury Mortimer to Ludlow
    • A458 at Much Wenlock

    Many others roads are open, but that doesn't mean there is not deep flood water in places and emergency services are urging drivers to take care.

  20. Drivers urged to expect slower journeyspublished at 10:08 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

    There is plenty of flash flooding on roads across Worcestershire this morning, according to the county council's highways & travel team.

    It urged motorists to please "drive to conditions".

    Police in Shrewsbury said there was lots of flood water on roads and they've asked people to plan for their journeys to take longer than normal.

    This was the scene earlier on the B5062 near Roden, in Shropshire.

    Media caption,

    Standing water blocks road near Roden