Storm Babet causes significant flooding and seven deaths across the UK

Storm Babet hit the UK on 18 October 2023, bringing high winds and extreme rainfall. Significant flooding across the country caused damage to homes and infrastructure, and the deaths of seven people, according to the British Red Cross¹.

A red weather warning was issued for Angus in Scotland, and the region experienced its wettest day on record in a series from 1891 on 19 October¹. The British Red Cross reports that the 2023/24 storm season has been one of the stormiest since storms began being named in 2015¹. Between September 2023 and April 2024, its teams responded to over 60 incidents of severe weather and environmental flooding, supporting over 1,000 people across the UK¹.

The assessment sets Storm Babet in the context of wider severe weather response. Since 2020, British Red Cross Crisis and Emergency Response teams have responded to over 200 severe weather and environmental flooding incidents in the UK, and have provided support to over 15,000 people affected by severe weather and environmental flooding¹. The organisation says it has responded to over 500 incidents since 2019, of which 127 were environmental flooding incidents in the past five years, with 25% of those occurring in 2023¹. Since 2020, over 300 of its emergency response volunteers have been deployed to provide support, and it has supported over 3,000 individuals during power outages¹.

The assessment also records that the British Red Cross supports electricity and gas companies to provide extra support to people on the Priority Services Register¹. No further detail on the areas worst affected by Storm Babet, the number of properties flooded, or the cost of damage has been reported in the document.

Why it matters for households

The British Red Cross describes flooding as historically the most severe climate-related hazard in the UK, and says it has responded more frequently to flood emergencies than to any other type of climate hazard¹. For households, the Storm Babet record shows that serious flooding can arrive with a named storm and affect homes and infrastructure across the country, with a red warning issued at regional level. The assessment notes that people on the Priority Services Register can receive extra support from electricity and gas companies during incidents, arranged with the British Red Cross¹. Households wanting to understand warning levels can read the guide to flood alerts, flood warnings and severe flood warnings, and those preparing for a warning can use the checklist for when a flood warning is issued. The wider flooding guide and flooding hub cover causes and preparation, and the storms and snow hub covers storm conditions. Sewer flooding, a separate cause covered in the guide to sewer flooding, is not discussed in relation to Storm Babet in the document.

What happens next

The British Red Cross says it is developing a climate change adaptation offer to support communities to adapt to a changing climate, and that the assessment informs this work¹. No further dated steps specific to Storm Babet recovery are given in the document.