PA Media/dpa
London
A major incident has been declared on the south coast as Storm Ciaran arrives, with heavy winds battering the UK.
There are two amber wind warnings, the second highest level of alert, in place for parts of the south coast of England for when Storm Ciaran hits on Thursday, together with further yellow rain warnings, a lower level which means some disruption could be on the way.
The Met Office has warned of coastal gusts of 70 to 80 miles per hour (112-129 kilometres per hour), with the potential for 85 mph. People are being urged not to go near the water’s edge due to "very dangerous conditions”.
An amber warning is in place from 3 am (0300 GMT) to 11 am in Cornwall and Devon, with the Met Office predicting Storm Ciaran will bring winds of 75 mph to 85 mph, with 65 mph to 75 mph gusts inland.
Videos of waves crashing against the coast in Cornwall were already being posted on social media late on Wednesday evening.
The major incident was declared by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Resilience Forum, with the local fire service warning that there was a "potential risk to life” as well as risk of damage to buildings, falling trees, and flooding.
Across the south coast, the amber warning runs from 6 am to 5 pm, with winds expected to reach 70 mph to 80 mph, with the potential for 85mph and large waves.
A red wind warning, the highest level, was issued by Jersey Met for Wednesday into Thursday, with people warned to avoid outside activity due to predicted gusts of almost 100 mph.
Northern Ireland has already seen flooding, where a yellow rain warning from the Met Office was in place until 9 am on Wednesday.
A similar notice was issued for southern parts of England and Wales from 6 pm on Wednesday until the end of Thursday.
A yellow warning for rain is also in place from 6 am on Thursday to 6 am on Friday for north-east England and Scotland, stretching up to Inverness.
People are being urged by the Environment Agency to prepare for "possible significant flooding” across parts of England from Wednesday to Friday, with some significant coastal impacts also possible but not expected on Thursday.
The mobile barriers at Exeter, which are part of the flood defence scheme, are being deployed and demountable and temporary barriers are already in place or ready to be installed along the River Severn.