Hundreds of people were being evacuated from their homes and schools closed in parts of Scotland on Thursday, as much of northern Europe braced for stormy weather, heavy rain and gale-force winds from the east.
The UK's weather forecaster, the Met Office, issued a rare red alert — the highest level of weather warning — for parts of Scotland, predicting "exceptional rainfall" across Thursday and Friday that is expected to cause extensive flooding and "danger to life from fast-flowing or deep floodwater." The last red alert in the UK was issued in 2020.
Forecasters say the storm, named Babet by UK officials, could bring more than a month's worth of rain in the worst-affected regions in Scotland.
Babet already brought flooding to several towns and villages in Ireland, with some areas remaining under water and without power on Thursday.
Soldiers helped with evacuation measures in the town of Midleton in County Cork, where more than 100 properties were flooded.
In the town of Brechin, near Scotland's eastern coast, officials told residents of about 400 houses to evacuate to local rest centres. Local schools were closed and will remain shut on Friday.
In Denmark, residents scrambled to place sandbags along exposed areas.
In Assens on the central island of Funen, emergency services deployed huge rubber tubes in the harbour to counter rising water levels, broadcaster TV2 reported.
Southern Denmark police urged people along the east coast to leave exposed areas if the weather predictions remain, saying cottages, harbors and other places could be flooded.
TV2 reported that the region would likely see the worst flooding in 110 years, and the Danish Meteorological Institute said waves could reach 4 metres along east-facing coasts.
The southeastern Danish town of Koege wrote on its Facebook page that emergency workers were busy filling sandbags and urged citizens to "avoid unnecessary baths, dishes, laundry and other water-intensive activities," saying "the municipality's treatment plant was at risk of being overloaded."
Police in the area warned that roads may be blocked, urged people to secure valuables and advised against sleeping on their boats in the harbors, saying that "if something happens, emergency services cannot get to them," police spokesperson Brian Bang-Rasmussen said.
Copenhagen's airport and the Danish national rail company warned of cancellations and delays Friday because of bad weather.
Several ferry lines between Danish islands were suspended, as were ferries to Rostock in northern Germany and to Oslo.
Swedish meteorologists also issued a warning for the south coast from Friday evening and Saturday. They said that the water level in southern parts of Sweden may reach its highest level since the 1990s.
In Germany, authorities warned of high water in bays in Schleswig-Holstein, south of the Denmark border, until mid-Saturday.
Authorities also warned of high water in the next two days on the Baltic Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's northernmost state, with water levels of up to 2 metres above average possible in the inlet where the city of Flensburg is located.
Some ferries to the North Sea islands of Foehr and Amrum were delayed or cancelled, German news agency dpa reported.
Norwegian meteorologists said a strong low-pressure area over Great Britain combined with high pressure over northern Scandinavia was creating strong east-northeasterly winds, with "very strong gusts" expected to hit southern Norway from the east.
