Heavy rain triggers flooding and chaos across Devon and Cornwall

30 August 2025 , 19:08

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Heavy rain triggers flooding and chaos across Devon and Cornwall

A night of heavy rain has caused flooding in Devon and Cornwall, forcing some businesses to close or delay opening.

The Environment Agency (EA) issued a flood warning overnight for the River Pol and Langreek Stream in Polperro and yellow weather warnings have been put in place by the Met Office across parts of southern England and Wales.

Torpoint Community Fire Station rescued a family from their home in the early hours of this morning and reported that there was "deep flood water on the road along the A374 from Wilcove to Antony".

Over in Devon, a landslide blocked the A379 overnight in Modbury. The local fire station warned of localized flooding and debris on the hill towards Harraton Cross.

’Catastrophic’, says business owner.

The Ship Inn and Ye Old Grog and Ale House in Looe are among the businesses which have had to close today, with signs outside indicating that they hope to open later in the afternoon.

Roads have been cracking, with tarmac and debris lifted up by the water.

The rainfall has also brought chaos to Megavissey, with deep flood water obstructing the streets. The clean-up job is looking to be significant for many businesses in the village.

Melanie Roberts runs the Lonely Coast Gallery and says there was "no warning" about the intensity of the rain.

She explained: "Waking up this morning and coming down to this was catastrophic to say the least." Ms Roberts said: "There have been beer barrels floating down the high street... A lot of businesses are really going to suffer now."

Kelly Allenby is about to open a new tanning studio, Selkie Skin, in the village, but the building has also been affected.

She said: "I was told the drains were blocked, and the water came through. I don’t know, but as you can see outside the tarmac has been lifted because of the force of the water coming through the drains."

She added: "I don’t know if I’ve seen it that bad before."

Colder weather is expected across the UK throughout September, with low pressure systems tending to dominate the overall pattern.

Parts of the south will still see temperatures around 20C, but will face much wetter conditions.

“This will mean showers or longer spells of rain will affect the majority of the UK at times. Some heavy rain or showers are expected in places, most often in the west,” according to the Met Office.

James Smith