Storm Ciarán: Major incident downgraded but flooding and road closures remain in Portsmouth area

The Hampshire Isle of Wight Local Resilience Forum have revised the decision made yesterday. The Environment Agency issued 54 flood warnings across Hampshire and the south coast.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Bartolomeo, chair of the LRF response for Storm Ciarán, said: "Having reviewed the forecasts, we made the decision yesterday to declare a major incident, to enable us to ensure the safety of all our residents across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

NOW READ: Live Storm Ciarán updates

"Whilst we have seen flooding of properties and roads; power outages and disruption to the highways networks caused by the wind and rain, we have thankfully not seen the full extent of the forecast weather, and we are now in a position to stand down the major incident response.

"However, this does not mean our support ends, and all agencies will continue to be available to you, should you require them, with rainfall set to continue into the weekend." Two yellow weather warnings issued by the Met Office are still in place.

The warning for rain is in place until midnight, with the warning for strong winds ending at 5pm. Several areas have been flooded as a result of Storm Ciarán.

Areas of Southsea around Canoe Lake have been badly effected, with the roundabout in Hayling Island near Manor Road and Church Road being swamped in water. Concrete slabs along Southsea seafront have been damaged and come loose, with debris strewn across the surrounding area.