UK Government sends emergency alert to thousands and thousands of Brits’ cellphones as Storm Darragh strikes in: Here’s every part that you must know

The UK government has sent an emergency alert to the mobile phones of millions of Britons as Storm Darragh is set to spark flooding and travel chaos this weekend.

Christmas events and flight being cancelled, and football games postponed as the 90mph winds made there way across the Atlantic Ocean today. 

Brits in the hardest hit areas were urged to ‘stay indoors’ and to strap down their Christmas decorations with the Met Office issuing a rare ‘danger to life’ red warning for tomorrow.

The ‘significant disruption’ warning from 3am until 11am covers most of the coast of Wales including Cardiff and Swansea, as well as parts of Bristol and North Somerset. 

Three million people across parts of southwest England and parts of Wales have now been sent an emergency alert this evening  at 6.45pm as the storm descends. 

The alert has been issued to the millions of Brits in both Welsh and English, with guidance on how to stay safe in light of the perilous weather tomorrow.

This will be the largest use of the system outside a test scenario with the last test being in April 2023.

Mobile phones are anticipated to make a loud siren-like sound even if they are set on silent, with the sound and vibration set to last for around 10 seconds.

It is understood residents in Devon, Bath and North East Somerset, the City of Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Somerset, Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff, Monmouthshire and Newport have been alerted 

A Cabinet Office Spokesperson said:’ The Met Office has issued a red warning for wind across parts of England and Wales from 0300 hrs until 1100 hrs on Saturday 7th December.

‘In light of the damaging winds and associated disruption, the Cabinet Office will issue an Emergency Alert at 1845 hrs on Friday 6th December to people in areas covered by the red warning in parts of Wales and the South West.

‘The Emergency Alert system will send a message to every compatible mobile phone in the impacted areas, containing information about the red warning and guidance on how to stay safe into Saturday. 

‘This will be the largest ever use of the system outside a test scenario.

‘Mobile phones will make a loud siren-like sound even if they are set on silent. The sound and vibration will last for about 10 seconds.

‘The UK Government has well rehearsed plans in place for severe winter weather and is working with teams from devolved governments, local authorities, the emergency services and other public bodies to coordinate the response to any disruption.’

Network Rail have advised commuters to check their travel routes ahead of any journeys this weekend. 

They have advised particularly those travelling in the city region of Liverpool and Cumbria should take extra care and plan their journeys in advance.

Chris Pye, Network Rail’s North West infrastructure director, said: ‘We are doing everything we can to prepare the railway for Storm Darragh.

‘I’d urge passengers to check before they travel as there may be some disruption to services during the extreme weather.

‘If you live near the railway, please can you secure any loose objects in your gardens such as trampolines and furniture. 

‘It is a serious safety risk if they blow onto the tracks and creates more work for our teams who will be on hand around the clock to keep passengers safely on the move.’

It comes as the storm swept across the Atlantic this afternoon, bringing torrential downpours set to spark flooding and travel chaos in parts of the UK this weekend. 

Two football matches in the Championship – Cardiff City v Watford and Plymouth Argyle v Oxford United – were called off today due to concerns for supporters’ safety.

Meteorologists said a period of ‘extremely strong winds’ will develop during the early hours of tomorrow morning as the low pressure system moves across the Irish Sea.

Forecasters told residents to ‘stay indoors if you can’ and ‘avoid travelling by road during potentially dangerous conditions – it is not safe to drive in these conditions’.

Yellow and amber warnings were also imposed for other parts of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, with those relating to the storm starting at 3pm today.

Flights could be delayed – with Ryanair warning of ‘potential disruptions to or from the UK’, and Jet2 saying: ‘We plan to operate our flights as close to schedule as possible, however there may be some disruption should the weather deteriorate.’

Homeowners were urged to secure loose items outside their properties such as Christmas decorations, bins, garden furniture, trampolines, tents, sheds and fences.

The red alert, issued just after 10am today, also urged people to ‘consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items’.

Red warnings are a rare event, with the last one issued by the Met Office just under a year ago on January 21, 2024 for 99mph Storm Isha – and today is only the 19th time in records dating back to 2011 that a red warning has been imposed.

Meanwhile a series of Christmas events this weekend were cancelled due to the forecast, including markets in towns such as Romsey, Hampshire; Taunton, Somerset; and Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire.

Elsewhere, the start of Bolton’s ‘Put Big Light On’ lights festival was postponed, and an ice sculpture trail in Darlington was also put back by a week.

Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire said it will not open tomorrow due to the storm for safety reasons.

In racing, Sandown’s Betfair Tingle Creek Chase meeting and the Boylesports Becher Chase fixture at Aintree tomorrow must pass precautionary inspections due to the threat of high winds.

Belfast City Council said on its website that the city’s Christmas market will stay closed tomorrow due to the weather warnings.

Tomorrow, the Met Office said gusts of ’90mph or more’ are possible over the coasts and hills of West and South Wales, as well as funnelling through the Bristol Channel.

Exposed beaches could be struck by ‘very large waves’ amid the ‘damaging winds’, and forecasters told of ‘danger to life due to flying debris and falling trees’.

There could also be power cuts, mobile phone coverage outages and ‘damage to buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down’. 

In addition, the Met Office warned roads, bridges and railway lines could be closed along with delays and cancellations to bus, train, ferry services and flights.

The Met Office has also issued a 39-hour yellow wind warning for the whole of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and much of Scotland, from 3pm today until 6am on Sunday.

And an 18-hour amber wind warning along the UK’s west coast from South Ayrshire down to Cornwall, as well as in Northern Ireland, will run tomorrow from 3am to 9pm.

The deepening low pressure system will bring a ‘risk to life and property’, with Christmas events such as light shows, trails and markets axed across the country.

It comes after a very wet and windy day preceded the storm, with a ‘mini tornado’ striking Clayton in Staffordshire at 5pm yesterday – and residents saying it ripped up grass and roof tiles amid a ‘deafening sound’ that was ‘like a bomb going off’.

And a Loganair flight from Manchester to Aberdeen was forced to turn back after 30 minutes when lightning cracked the plane’s windshield at about 4.30pm yesterday.

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.