Flood warnings are in place along the south coast of England as Storm Ciaran brings powerful winds and heavy rain.

Winds are lashing southern England and gusts of up to 152km/h are expected to hit the Channel Islands.

Most of the 54 flood warnings issued for the UK by the Environment Agency are along England’s south coast, with a further 134 alerts in place for possible flooding.

Ben Lukey, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Large waves and onshore gales brought by Storm Ciaran could see significant flooding along parts of the south coast and along parts of the Yorkshire and northeast coasts on Thursday.”

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A major incident was declared by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Resilience Forum, with the local fire service warning there was a “potential risk to life” as well as a risk of damage to buildings, falling trees, and flooding.

Across the south coast, an amber warning was issued on Thursday with winds expected to reach up to 128km/h.

A red wind warning, the highest level, was issued by Jersey Met into Thursday with people warned to avoid outside activity due to predicted gusts of almost 160km/h.

The French coast saw winds of up to 177km/h in western Brittany overnight.

All flights from Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney airports on Thursday have been cancelled.

Commuters in southern England were urged to work from home by Southern Rail as they assess any fallen trees and debris on the line.

Northern Ireland has already been hit by flooding with some 12,000 sandbags were deployed in the worst-affected areas.

An estimated 80 businesses in Newry were damaged after the city’s canal burst its banks.

Roads and some train services were disrupted in counties Down, Antrim and Armagh amid rising flood waters.

In Europe, the German Weather Service (DWD) issued warnings for Ciaran for the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts.

The DWD said Ciaran is moving from the English Channel towards the North Sea with 90km/h winds predicted.

-PA with DPA