Why is the UK still so poorly prepared for extreme weather?
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2025 has rolled in with weather warnings and transport chaos aplenty, as the nation prepares for another period of unsettled conditions. Not only were New Year celebrations cancelled and train journeys disrupted due to wild winds, but alerts about potentially life-threatening cold weather conditions also hit the headlines ahead of this this weekend.
And, as we see year on year, large swathes of the UK can struggle to cope when extreme weather arrives. Just this week, a major incident was declared after torrential rain left parts of Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire flooded. Earlier this winter, a flooded tunnel at London’s Farringdon station brought Thameslink services to a standstill, while ‘significant leaf fall’ caused by high volumes of water forced a closure to part of the Underground’s Piccadilly line.
Elsewhere, dramatic images have captured the moments roads turned into rivers and trees toppled onto key transport routes in more rural areas. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.
![[People cleaning up after the flooding in Tenbury Wells. A clear up is underway in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, this morning, November 25, 2024, after devastating flooding hit the town. Huge amounts of water poured through the town as rivers burst their banks. The devastation was made worse by the collapse of the Market Street Kyre Brook retaining wall, which gave way under the strain of the water.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/SEI_230877783-71f0.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Up Next. At least five people died in England and Wales when Storm Bert struck in November, one of whom was 75-year-old Brian Perry, who went missing in North Wales as he walked his dog. When Storm Darragh arrived the following month, England rugby international Tom Voyce lost his life when his car came off the Abberwick Ford, near Alnwick, amid strong currents.
