Storm Eunice: People urged to only travel 'if absolutely necessary'

The Environment Agency is advising households to protect themselves from possible flooding and urging people to stay away from the coast on Friday

People in Cornwall are being urged to only travel "if absolutely necessary" this Friday as Storm Eunice is set to cause disruption.

Cornwall Council, which issued the warning, said people across the county were "being urged to take precautions".

Those living in flood-risk areas along the north coasts of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset have been told to prepare for possible flooding.

People are advised to stay away from the coast.

The Environment Agency said strong winds, large waves and tidal surges were likely to cause wave-overtopping and floods during high tide on Friday.

An amber weather warning for wind is in place across most of England from 03:00 GMT until 21:00 on Friday.

Analysis: David Braine, Senior Weather Presenter, BBC South West

Storm Eunice is unusual because it has not yet formed, and normally we can follow areas of low pressure across the Atlantic as they develop and give reasonable guidance as to the track and the intensity.

The exact track and time of wind intensity is difficult to predict, but most of the computer models we use suggest that on Friday, between 09:00 to 12:00 GMT, there may well be damaging gusts close to 100mph (161km/h) along the north coasts of Devon and Cornwall.

The last time we had such strength of wind was in February 2014, when the Dawlish railway line was washed away.

This may well be stronger, but the winds being westerly means that the risk to Dawlish is small.

Whilst there is still some uncertainty in the track of Eunice, there is an increasing likelihood of widespread inland wind gusts of 60 to 70mph, (97km/h to 113km/h) and up to 80mph (129km/h) in a few places.

Winds are expected to ease across western areas through Friday afternoon and eastern areas during the evening.

Cornwall Council said: "Residents are urged to pay close attention to the weather forecast over the next two days and are urged to only travel on Friday if absolutely necessary.

"People are urged to stay back from cliffs and seafronts due to the danger of large waves."

Devon County Council said it was also advising people to take extra care when travelling on Friday morning, because of possibilities of flying debris, fallen trees, damage to buildings and homes, roofs blown off and power lines brought down.

High winds might also result in temporary bridge closures, including the Taw Bridge in Barnstaple, it said.

Warning against 'storm selfies'

Katharine Smith, Environment Agency flood duty manager, said: "Strong winds could bring coastal flooding to parts of the west, south-west and south coast of England, as well as the tidal River Severn, through the early hours of Friday morning and into the early afternoon.

"Environment Agency teams are out on the ground closing gates, erecting barriers and clearing screens where flood debris can build up, and stand ready to operate further flood defences if needed.

"We urge people to stay safe on the coast and warn wave watchers against the unnecessary danger of taking 'storm selfies'.

Coastguards said boat owners should make sure their vessels were properly secured to moorings.

Paddy Cochrane, from Falmouth Coastguard, told BBC Radio Cornwall: "We would hope that boat owners, anybody who is out on moorings this time of the year, go out, double check your lines, make sure that all your moorings are properly secured, chain-to-chain rather than rope-to-chain if you can, or double up on your ropes.

"Just ensure that if you live on the coast that everything's battened down because we're going to get a fair old blow come through."

Windy weather this week has already affected events and facilities.

In Cornwall, Truro Farmers' Market on Wednesday was postponed ahead of the storm, and the Jubilee Pool in Penzance announced it was closing until next Wednesday.

The Environment Agency said people could keep up to date with the latest situation online and on its Twitter feed.