Dozens rescued as rain leads to flooding and travel is disrupted in parts of the UK

LONDON — Dozens of people were rescued Monday from flooded homes and stranded cars as a soggy and cold spell continued to disrupt life across parts of the U.K. and more wintry weather was expected.

Hundreds of schools were closed for the first day of classes of 2025, trains were halted and commuters experienced headaches as sections of highways and major roads were closed from high water and snow that made driving hazardous.

Much of the U.K. has been hit by strong winds and periods of precipitation that struck before New Year's Day and snuffed out several fireworks displays and other celebrations. Several communities have faced significant flooding since the start of the year.

Warnings that flooding was expected were issued in nearly 200 places in England by late Monday afternoon. Several train lines were shut down or experiencing delays due to floodwaters or trees that had fallen on tracks.

The body of a man found Monday in a flooded area near the River Aire in northern England was believed to have gone in the water over the weekend, North Yorkshire police said. They were seeking his identification.

Leicestershire and neighboring Lincolnshire in the English Midlands declared major incidents as they responded to hundreds of calls for help as waterways spilled over their banks and turned roads into rivers, burying cars up to their roofs.

Nearly 60 people were rescued from swamped homes and vehicles, the Leicestershire fire service said on the X social media platform. Emergency workers were trying to pluck children from a school in Edenham, where they were safe but stranded, the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum posted on X.

One woman was rescued from a car by a pub owner who waded up to his chest in frigid floodwaters to pull her from the vehicle and carry her to safety.

Cimi Kazazi, the owner of the Italian Greyhound in Great Glen, had arrived at his business in the morning to find it partially under water, Luigi Salcini, the pub manager told The Associated Press.

The woman had tried to drive to her house when her car, covered with a dusting of snow from the night before, got stuck. Eventually the water rose up to the windows.

“She started to drive but realized the car was deeper and she started going down with the water,” Salcini said. “She started to scream, ‘Help’ and we came out and Cimi went to rescue her.”

In rural areas, rows of hedges poked from the brown waters marking field boundaries as large swaths of farmland were submerged.

Southeast of London, the Little Venice trailer park in Yalding, Kent was surrounded by floodwaters.

Snow created a beautiful backdrop in the hills of northern England and parts of Scotland, but forced hundreds of schools to shut their doors on what had been scheduled to be the first day of the new year.

With temperatures dipping below freezing in many places, authorities were also warning people to be careful of icy conditions in Tuesday.

Snow and ice warnings were in place for most of the U.K. into Tuesday and through Wednesday in southern England.