The Met Office expects another spell of heavy rainfall and flooding this week in northern England.
Over 7,000 British troops have been called in to areas in the north of the country to carry out mass evacuations amid rising floodwaters and “unprecedented” levels of rain.
England’s largest cities in the north face a ‘billion-pound economic’ blow because of the flooding, the FT said.
For some parts of the UK it has already been a record breaking month for rainfall, with exceptional amounts of rain falling onto already saturated ground.
Met Office meteorologists forecast another spell of stormy weather for this week.
Andy Page, Met Office Chief Meteorologist, said: “We expect stormy conditions to return midweek, and have already issued National Severe Weather Warnings for gales on Tuesday and heavy rain on Wednesday, as an explosively deepening area of low pressure passes to the northwest of the UK
“Everyone should be aware of the potential for disruption in places from further flooding and the impacts of the gales to transport, especially in areas such as south-west Scotland where Amber ‘be prepared’ warnings are in place.
“The weather is particularly unsettled at the moment and we advise everyone to stay up to date with the latest Met Office forecasts and warnings and find out what to do in severe weather so they can plan ahead for the expected weather before it arrives.”
Thousands of homes in York have been evacuated after the heavy rain caused the Foss and Ouse rivers to burst. The Met Office says that there could be an additional 20mm to 40mm of rain throughout Wednesday.
Alison Baptiste, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Our thoughts are with all those who have suffered serious flooding to their homes and businesses over Christmas and those who face the risk of further flooding over the coming days.
“We still have 24 severe flood warnings, meaning a risk to life, in force for parts of Yorkshire and river levels in these areas will continue to rise throughout today and tomorrow. People in these communities should continue to check their flood risk, prepare for flooding, follow the advice from emergency services and never risk driving through flood water.
“Environment Agency staff will continue to work around the clock to help reduce the potential impacts of flooding and support those communities affected.”
Met Office forecaster Emma Boorman, said: “From Tuesday night into Wednesday, which is going to be a particularly wet day, is what we need to watch quite closely,”
The Dumfries and Galloway in south-west Scotland are expected to be the worst hit parts of the UK, with total rainfall potentially reaching somewhere between 100mm to150mm – or even higher.