under flood and red danger to life warnings. more than 300 schools have been forced to close, as well as several airports — there are no flights in or out ofjersey, guernsey and alderney airports. this is the view over the port of dover, where ferries have been cancelled. train lines have also ground to a halt, with some operators telling commuters to work from home and drivers in the south and west of uk have been told to avoid coastal roads. let's take a look at some of the places where the storm is having an impact. this footage is from cornwall, where huge waves can be seen crashing onto the beach. this is st clement injersey. you can see the intensity of the wind and the rain. authorities are warning storm ciaran poses a potential risk to life and property. this is from beaucette marine in guernsey, again you can see the wind and rain rocking

the boats there. these pictures are from this morning in milford on sea on the hampshire coast. you can see the swell this system is creating, which has forced the closure of the beach. the system has already been over north—west france, bringing gale—force winds. the country's transport minister says a lorry driver was killed when a tree fell on his vehicle in the ayn region. our reporter, aruna iyengar, has the very latest. waves crashing over the sea wall in devon. a car is washed into the sea. this is penzance in cornwall. and there is heavy rainfall and flooding across the country. areas of northern ireland have been flooded. this is the scene in newry. storm ciaran is unleashing its power across the country. hampshire county council has declared a major incident for residents in hampshire

and the isle of wight. many schools are putting safety first and will be shut in hampshire, southampton and devon. amber wind warnings, the second highest level of alert, are in place for parts of the south coast. gusts are expected to reach 70 to 80 mph in the south, and 20 to 30 millimetres of rain is expected to fall today. a lot of trees injersey, some of them will obviously fall down. slates and things flying about and causing damage. the storm struck the channel islands last night. jersey and guernsey have seen some of their worst storm conditions in decades. so there has been a lot of structural damage, a lot of roofs, trees are down, obviously. the roads are blocked, so there is a lot of debris on the roads. they were preparing yesterday. flood defences were put in place. schools across the islands are closed.

flights are grounded at guernsey and alderney airports. people have been asked not to stockpile goods after supermarket shelves were stripped. national highways has issued a warning to drivers in the south—east, saying there is the risk of cars being blown over. they're also warning about flooded roads. train and ferry companies are warning of severe disruption to services. they're asking customers to check online before they travel. the advice is to stay indoors unless you have to go out. aruna iyengar, bbc news. let's bring in our weather presenter carol kirkwood. we were hearing how bad things have beenin we were hearing how bad things have been injersey in the channel islands in general, how bad are things now?— islands in general, how bad are thins now? , . , , , things now? things are still pretty bad for some _ things now? things are still pretty bad for some of— things now? things are still pretty bad for some of us _ things now? things are still pretty bad for some of us right _ things now? things are still pretty bad for some of us right now. - things now? things are still pretty bad for some of us right now. the | bad for some of us right now. the met office still has an amber weather warning after some coastal

counties of england. east sussex and also kent. this will in the south—west expire just two minutes ago. we are still looking at the potential for 70 to 80 mph gusts of wind, damaging guests, and also with exposure, through the straits of dover we could have guests in excess of that. we are not quite out of the woods just yet. find of that. we are not quite out of the woods just yet-— woods 'ust yet. and the issue that we woods just yet. and the issue that we were hearing _ woods just yet. and the issue that we were hearing about _ woods just yet. and the issue that we were hearing about obviously l woods just yet. and the issue that | we were hearing about obviously is that the water that is falling, the rain that is falling, is falling onto ground that already saturated. that is absolutely right. we have had some torrential rain this morning as well. if we focus on the channel islands once again, these are the wind speeds that we have had this morning. in excess of 100 mph for seven. this morning. in excess of 100 mph forseven. but this morning. in excess of 100 mph for seven. but they are gusts, they are variable. and we have had some torrential rain from the wind speeds in the channel islands are starting to come down but still at the

moment, injersey, we are looking at gusts of 7a mph. you conceal the rain that we have had in the channel islands but notjust the channel islands, across many parts of the uk, and if you note this circle, they are rotating around an area of low pressure. that area of low pressure is what is storm ciaran. some nasty, tricky conditions out there. a lot of surface water and spray on the roads. if you are travelling, take extra care. we have a ready scene the damage across some southern areas, including the channel islands.— southern areas, including the channel islands. , my channel islands. very tricky driving conditions we _ channel islands. very tricky driving conditions we have _ channel islands. very tricky driving conditions we have been _ channel islands. very tricky driving conditions we have been hearing i conditions we have been hearing about how difficult things are on the trains, the trees that are on the trains, the trees that are on the tracks and we have seen pictures of trampolines as well on the tracks. where is it moving, that large patch of blue? this tracks. where is it moving, that large patch of blue?— large patch of blue? this is the centre of the _ large patch of blue? this is the centre of the low _ large patch of blue? this is the centre of the low pressure, - large patch of blue? this is the | centre of the low pressure, this large patch of blue? this is the i centre of the low pressure, this is the centre of the storm, it is heading north—eastwards. at the moment, the winds are starting to come down across the south—west of

england. slowly coming down across the channel islands. but they are still gusty. in the centre of this low, the winds are really like. 0n the other side of the centre of the low pressure, in kent for example, 78 mph. as this storm system pushes towards the north—east, it will continue to start to weaken and the other thing is the stronger winds on the rain will follow on behind. if you think of an area of low pressure as dragging all this with, as it pushes out into the north sea, but the other thing is that we are looking at the wind and the aim of around an area of low pressure in an anticlockwise direction. as this all pushes this way, we still have everything rotating around it anticlockwise, so we will see further rain coming in across eastern scotland and also north—east england, where again, we have had issues of flooding in recent days will stop what is the timescale you

are expecting for it to have moved by? it is moving slowly, so we still have some rain connected with this across scotland and north—east in and into tomorrow and it still will be windy. for the rest of the uk, it is not going to be as windy, a few showers around, drier than today, and slowly tomorrow, the winds will tend to ease and by the time we get a saturday, it'll be gone. having said that, we have another area of low pressure coming in from the south—west on saturday and that will affect southern areas initially, not to the same extent as we are looking at today. we not expecting at this another storm.— another storm. very quickly, the distinction _ another storm. very quickly, the distinction between _ another storm. very quickly, the distinction between the - another storm. very quickly, the distinction between the red - another storm. very quickly, the distinction between the red and l distinction between the red and yellow and the amber warnings, can you tell us what the difference is between them?— between them? think of it as a traffic light _ between them? think of it as a traffic light system, _ between them? think of it as a traffic light system, the - between them? think of it as a traffic light system, the red - between them? think of it as a i traffic light system, the red light is the most serious one, if you like, that is danger to life and it is imminent, so basically, move and take heed of whatever you are

advised to do by the emergency services and also the local authorities. this is a really important one and they are not issued regularly, although we have had two of late. the amber one is the next level down and it is the likelihood of impact because of the severe weather, so take action, so move now, and the yellow one is the lowest of them. the amount of rainfall that we are looking out at the moment is quite normal us were this time of year but because the ground is already saturated, it is exacerbating that risk and a lot of people think as well that if you live next to a river or the sea, thatis live next to a river or the sea, that is where you are at greatest risk of flooding. of course, you are, but when the water table is quite high and absolutely saturated, it will come up with the ground as well. if you are walking through a park and you are sloshing, that is because there is nowhere else for the water to go. it is because there is nowhere else for the water to go.— the water to go. it is saturated. thank you _ the water to go. it is saturated. thank you so — the water to go. it is saturated. thank you so much. _

live now to meghan 0wen, she's in st aubin injersey. jersey she's in st aubin injersey. has been having the wo it, jersey has been having the worst of it, really. talk through what it has been like overnight.— been like overnight. well, as you can see, been like overnight. well, as you can see. it _ been like overnight. well, as you can see. it is _ been like overnight. well, as you can see. it is a — been like overnight. well, as you can see, it is a pretty _ been like overnight. well, as you | can see, it is a pretty pre-picture. can see, it is a pretty pre—picture. that is the st aubin bay on the back it has died down slightly. the peak of the storm is over. but that does not mean that the problems have stopped. 0vernight, it was extraordinary. nobody really slept. we could just hear rain crashing on the windows, there were reports of hailstones the size of golf balls. and we woke up this morning to the damage. we have heard reports of the hospital roof being damaged. people have been told to evacuate their homes in some areas. i heard was that over a0 people had been

evacuated and some ended up in accident and emergency as well. many of them are sheltering in hotels at the moment. the reason i had been zero morning is because it has not been safe to drive out and about. the roads are completely covered in trees and debris. it is a pretty unsafe place to be at the moment. you are basically cut off injersey. i know there are no flights in and out and no boat services either. exactly, people did have prior warning about this storm. they were able to prepare but i think there has been a real concern and what is so difficult in an island is that you rely on these boats to come in and actually... i have been previously based year as a reporter for a couple of years, so did see bad weather and boats could not get through but this feels different. people are concerned that they might be completely cut off from supplies. flights have stopped today. and we don't know when they will resume. i think it is sort of a wait and see.

schools are closed comedy hospital has closed, except for emergencies. and people have been told to stay at home and stay safe inside. this is just part of the isolated nature of living on an island and why it is so difficult in these conditions. you talked about _ difficult in these conditions. you talked about how you are prepared for it in terms of knowing that it was coming but how well do you think jersey is coping, if it is possible for you to ascertain from where you are, in terms of how prepared is it in generalfor things are, in terms of how prepared is it in general for things like this? last night, we were out and about filming and there were authorities laying out sandbags along the sea walls and there were lots of police around, shutting off the yesterday, it was pretty much a ghost island with nobody around, the streets completely empty. people have gone out and about, the roads are still

closed, and they are still struggling. people are following that advice on staying at home. at i think it has disrupted a lot more things than people realise. i have heard from many islanders who say this is worse than they imagined. it is a pretty syria situation here. people were having to stay in hotels overnight. people were having to stay in hotels overniaht. , , overnight. yes, exactly. there were a few parish — overnight. yes, exactly. there were a few parish halls _ overnight. yes, exactly. there were a few parish halls open _ overnight. yes, exactly. there were a few parish halls open overnight i a few parish halls open overnight for people who needed a safe place to stay and actually quite a few took that offer up. they homes were... some people had rules coming off their homes, garden fences collapsing. so many have had to evacuate and now many are just staying in hotels, dozens of islanders are staying in hotels, just waiting to see what the next piece of advice will be. i think, like i said, no one really knows, it is unpredictable, and unpredictable

situation. i think it is a question of assessing today really what the damage is an when people might be able to go back but at this point, we don't have those answers. thank ou ve we don't have those answers. thank you very much _ we don't have those answers. thank you very much for — we don't have those answers. thank you very much for talking _ we don't have those answers. thank you very much for talking us - we don't have those answers. thank you very much for talking us through all of that. another video to show you — extraordinary footage of the moment a window was blown in in the middle of the night, in st clements injersey. take a look... the wind blew in the window. it was caught on a baby monitor. jessica 0'reilly was asleep at her home when the sound of storm ciaran woke her. moments later her window was blown inwards.

she manages to grab her babyjust in time. that window coming crashing through into the bedroom. earlier, i spoke to andrew gilham, the national operations manager at the environment agency. it is quite a wet and wild morning out there, as you have been discussing with your viewers. certainly, the wins have been the focus i think of much of the news and the damage that we have seen. 0ur priority has been, our concern has been, the rain that has fallen with that win. we saw a lot of rainfall over the last few weeks, which resulted in a lot of flooding, and as a result the ground is saturated and so any rain that is falling now will fall through the day, will run off quite quickly and flow into the already swollen rivers. currently, we have 68 flood

warnings in force across the country and a further 17a flood alerts, which means that flooding is possible. i would urge anybody who is thinking of going out and about to listen to the advice of other emergency services and the coastguard near the sea, and seriously consider your own safety. certainly when you are driving, we would expect to see quite a lot of surface water flooding. would expect to see quite a lot of surface waterflooding. driving surface water flooding. driving through surface waterflooding. driving through flood water has its own risks and i would discourage anyone from doing that. if the water is deeper than about a foot, cars can start to float. you cannot see what is below floodwater. you cannot see how deep it is. please don't drive through floodwater. and even for pedestrians, floodwater has its own hazards. you cannot see ditches, you cannot see drops, that you would

ordinarily see and manhole covers can get removed. just by the pressure of the water. please take extreme care if you are out and about. our teams in the environment agency have been monitoring the situation around the clock for the last few weeks. we will issue more flood warnings as we need to. throughout the day. and as we see high tides coming in along the south coast and the east coast through the day, we do expect to see large waves on the coastline and whilst our teams have been out repairing our assets and looking after them to make sure they are ready for the storms, they have had quite a sustained period of attack from the weather. we are doing our bit. and weather. we are doing our bit. and we are encouraging the communities to do their bit as well. we we are encouraging the communities to do their bit as well.— to do their bit as well. we did have uuite a bit to do their bit as well. we did have quite a bit of _ to do their bit as well. we did have quite a bit of warning _ to do their bit as well. we did have quite a bit of warning of— to do their bit as well. we did have quite a bit of warning of this, - quite a bit of warning of this, didn't we? we quite a bit of warning of this, didn't we?— quite a bit of warning of this, didn't we? ~ ~ ' . didn't we? we did, the met office have been forecasting _

didn't we? we did, the met office have been forecasting bad - didn't we? we did, the met office| have been forecasting bad weather and that enabled us to plan not only internally but also with our colleagues across the emergency services and local authorities and as a result of that, i think we are in a good place for our teams are out, keeping the rivers as clear as we can, making sure all of our flood defence structures are as they can. clearly, with strong winds, you do see debris, trees coming down, branches falling off and ending up in rivers, those can increase the risk of flooding as a result of blockages. and again, if anybody is out and about and sees a blockage, then please report it and we will do our best to remove it when we can, when it is safe to do so. but also, anyone who is concerned about the risk of flooding can check on the internet, on gulf dock uk, whether as lots of very useful information about what to do, before, during and after a flood event, you can also get the latest on our flood warnings on there as well. if you don't have

access to the internet then you can call the flood line number, which is 03a5 9881188. we will continue to monitor the weather and impact as a result of the rainfalls and we will issue any further flood warnings as we need to throughout the day. the trainin: we need to throughout the day. the training system is so important. —— training system is so important. —— training system. how prepared is the uk in general or weather events like this, which are all too often these days? pm this, which are all too often these da s? �* . ' this, which are all too often these da s? . ., , ., this, which are all too often these das? .,' ., ., this, which are all too often these da s? . ., , ., ., ., ~ days? an awful out of work those earnina days? an awful out of work those earning the _ days? an awful out of work those earning the short, _ days? an awful out of work those earning the short, medium - days? an awful out of work those earning the short, medium and i earning the short, medium and long—term to make sure that as nation across england, we are on top of managing flood risk as best we can for we have to prioritise our investment to those communities where flood risk is greatest, but it is not something that the environment agency can do alone. we very much work in partnership with

communities and other public sector organisations because it is notjust about building flood defences or maintaining flood defences, it is about warning and informing communities, helping make correct longer term decisions and that is why we have a long—term flood risk strategy in place for the country, which very much the work we are doing today is fitting within. what doing today is fitting within. what about the driving _ doing today is fitting within. what about the driving conditions at the moment? you are talking about the surface water that there is. people are still going to go out, there will still be people taking to their cars today, if they have to. is there any advice you can give people about the best way to cope in these conditions? i about the best way to cope in these conditions? ., about the best way to cope in these conditions? ~' ., about the best way to cope in these conditions?— conditions? i think from what other organisations _ conditions? i think from what other organisations have _ conditions? i think from what other organisations have been _ conditions? i think from what other organisations have been saying - conditions? i think from what otherj organisations have been saying this morning, if you don't need to go out today, especially during the strongest period of winds, which will obviously vary depending where you are in the country, then don't

because flying debris can be hazardous. like all good drivers, i would recommend slowing down. when road conditions are wet, at this time of year, leaves on the road, stopping distances are greater, so just ease off a little bit. if you don't need to go out, don't go out. plan yourjourney, checking with local radio, check on the internet and take yourtime local radio, check on the internet and take your time and plan for the worst and hope for the best. that is the advice from _ worst and hope for the best. that is the advice from the _ worst and hope for the best. that is the advice from the environment. the advice from the environment agency. let's show you some live pictures now. this is west bay in dorset. still warnings in place for the south—west. an amber warning for wind. huge waves have been crashing onto the beach. you can see them. it is really rough in the harbour in west bay. and the water level in the harbour is, as you would expect,

very high. very difficult conditions for you can hardly see anybody in any of the images i have been watching. nobody around because it is such treacherous conditions. you can see the waves crashing down onto the site. that is the picture in dorset. in terms of the warnings in place, amber warnings for wind still in place for the south—east of england. they are in place until 12. there will be a review there and we may hear about more warnings. still amber warning for wind may hear about more warnings. still amberwarning forwind in may hear about more warnings. still amber warning for wind in the south—west and yellow warning for wind across southern england. as we were hearing carroll explain what the warnings mean, the red one, where they have been having those in the channel islands, that is where there is a risk to life. the amber warning says there is a potential risk to life and property and disruption. and yellow is the lower warning, which talks about some disruption to travel and other impacts. as you can see, west bay in

dorset very much impacted by storm ciaran. the covid inquiries on a break. we have been hearing evidence over the last three weeks and it is the second phase now. today, we have been hearing from senior health officials. we have been hearing from the former chief executive officer of nhs england, his former title is baron stevens of birmingham. live now to our correspondent, zoe conway. we have been hearing about the relationship between the nhs and the government during the pandemic. how cobra was almost given up on and then they had daily meetings. talk

us through everything baron stevens was talking about today in terms of that relationship.— was talking about today in terms of that relationship. what he has done this morning _ that relationship. what he has done this morning is _ that relationship. what he has done this morning is to _ that relationship. what he has done this morning is to take _ that relationship. what he has done this morning is to take us _ this morning is to take us behind—the—scenes of some of the most important meetings that happened at the beginning of 2020, so before the pandemic had really kind of built up in this country, when it was still unclear what the scale of the pandemic was going to be. i thought one of the most important things he talked about was something called operation nimbus, there was a meeting in february 2020 to talk about operation nimbus, which was essentially an exercise to find out what the scale of the deaths would be, caused by the pandemic, undera deaths would be, caused by the pandemic, under a reasonable worst—case scenario, so how many deaths could we have been looking at in april 2020 question it was

looking to answer. he said the modelling showed it could be 8a0,000 deaths by april 2020. the reason why all of this is important is because one of the criticisms that has been levelled at the government is that it locked down to late in 2020 and so the question that was put to simon stevens really was if in february 2020, you were looking at a reasonable worst—case scenario of 8a0,000 deaths, why didn't we lockdown sooner? and i think what was interesting actually was what simon stevens did not say. he did not say, we should have lockdown sooner. he actually said that there was a lot of ambiguity at that point about how likely it would be that we were going to get to that point, that reasonable worst—case scenario, so he was kind of very measured on that and in fact, his criticism really was that there should have been more clarity about the kind of

probability of facing that worst—case scenario. that was interesting. i think it is also fair to say that we did not entirely dodge this kind of suggestion of dysfunction at the heart of government because he was asked repeatedly about his relationship with matt hancock. he was asked about whether he thought that matt hancock was truthful because of course, that was one of the things that dominic cummings, the former chief adviser to the prime minister, borisjohnson, has been saying about matt hancock come about when he was secretary of state for health, he was not truthful. andrew 0'connor, the council of inquiry, kept pushing this to simon stevens, did you think matt hancock was truthful question marquee said, we had occasional moments of tension and flashpoints, so he tried to dodge the question he was pushed again, did you find him truthful? and he said, i always look

for the best in people. which you could say was somewhat of a diplomatic response. in fact, the council to the inquiry said you were not answering the question. but it is fair to say that simon stevens just would not go there, would not say that matt hancock did not always tell the truth. he certainly did not repeat the criticisms that dominic cummings has made about the former secretary of state for health. but there was also another interesting moment in the inquiry, which was an exchange of texts between phone messages between dominic cummings and matt hancock. this was early on in 2020, where dominic cummings was essentially texting matt hancock, asking him when he was going to get rid of simon stevens, the chief executive then of the nhs, when was he going to get rid of him? what we have subsequently heard from dominic

cummings was that by the tiny pandemic had really taken hold, he had stopped pushing for simon stevens and possibly departure. in that text exchange, it was here that both those men wanted simon stevens to go. simon stevens again was asked about this. and he sort of batted it away. and said that, to his face, he was never told that they wanted him to leave his post. he was never told that they wanted him to leave his post.— to leave his post. he was also asked about matt hancock's _ to leave his post. he was also asked about matt hancock's decisions, - to leave his post. he was also asked about matt hancock's decisions, in l about matt hancock's decisions, in terms of who should be provided with care and his opinion on whether the secretary of state should be basically able to decide who gets to live and die, wasn't he? it basically able to decide who gets to live and die, wasn't he?— live and die, wasn't he? it was an extraordinary _ live and die, wasn't he? it was an extraordinary moment. _ live and die, wasn't he? it was an extraordinary moment. this - live and die, wasn't he? it was an i extraordinary moment. this meeting live and die, wasn't he? it was an - extraordinary moment. this meeting i have been talking about, february 2020, where they are role—playing what would happen under the worst—case scenario, the possibility of 8a0,000 deaths, when it is clear

that if that happens, the nhs becomes overwhelmed, and that under that scenario, who decides who lives, who dies? who gets access to treatment, who doesn't? it is interesting thatjeremy hunt, the former secretary of state for health has said that he believed that decision should be made by the public and by medics but what is interesting is that simon stevens said that in that meeting in february 2020, matt hancock said that he thought that he should decide who should live unto should die. and asked about that, simon stevens said that he thought that was highly undesirable. i think it is important to say that what simon stevens also said was that we never reached that point. that did not come to pass. but it is interesting that what matt hancock's answer to that what matt hancock's answer to that question was was different from jeremy hunt's. that question was was different from jeremy hunt's-— that question was was different from jerem hunt's. ~ , . jeremy hunt's. when we expected them to come back? — jeremy hunt's. when we expected them to come back? it _ jeremy hunt's. when we expected them to come back? it is _ jeremy hunt's. when we expected them to come back? it is a _

jeremy hunt's. when we expected them to come back? it is a break _ jeremy hunt's. when we expected them to come back? it is a break for - jeremy hunt's. when we expected them to come back? it is a break for the - to come back? it is a break for the stenographer. _ to come back? it is a break for the stenographer, the _ to come back? it is a break for the stenographer, the person - to come back? it is a break for the | stenographer, the person recording all of this, so in the next few minutes. all of this, so in the next few minutes-— all of this, so in the next few minutes. ~ ., . ,, ., ., minutes. we will go back to that when it comes. _ minutes. we will go back to that when it comes. thank _ minutes. we will go back to that when it comes. thank you - minutes. we will go back to that when it comes. thank you very l minutes. we will go back to that - when it comes. thank you very much. when the feed resumes, the live feed resumes, we will go back to it. we will turn our attention to our main story, storm ciaran. we are seeing a lot of disruption to trains in england this morning. this picture was tweeted by southeastern railway from hastings station with the caption: "the trampoline now arriving at platform four." for commuters south of london, advice has been put out by three companies — southern, gatwick express and thameslink — asking them to work from home if they can. meanwhile, southeastern said several lines and advises passengers "not to attempt to travel". in the south west of england, there are no gwr trains in cornwall because of flooding and fallen trees. the line is also closed between exeter and taunton, salisbury and southampton, reading to gatwick and there

london north eastern railway is also asking people not to travel, with disruption lasting until saturday and no train services operating from edinburgh to aberdeen in both directions, after mid—morning today. a long queue of freight lorries has formed on the a20, as the port of dover announces it is suspending all sailings. anyone who had been planning to travel today is being advised to check with their operator before setting out. port of dover police have asked people to stay away coastal areas. posting on x, formerly twitter, they said: "for your own safety and that of first responders, avoid our beaches, piers and promenade during this time." heavy rain and wind at norwich train station this morning, this picture was sent in from a viewer. another viewer sends us this in from frinton—on—sea on the essex coast, where the doors of a beach hut blew off.

coastal communities are among the worst hit,