Flooding continues to threaten UK amid high tides
Flooded River Severn in Gloucestershire from the air
High tides and strong winds have brought flooding to Wales, Scotland and western England as officials warn of a continuing threat in parts of the UK.
There are currently nine severe flood warnings - meaning "danger to life" - for Gloucestershire, Dorset and Wales.
With more flooding expected at high tide later on Friday, the emergency services have urged the public to stay away from coastal areas.
A tidal surge caused flooding in Scotland.
In Wales, properties were flooded and a number of people had to be rescued.
In Northern Ireland, high tides and strong winds caused some flooding in coastal areas but the tide peaked without any major flooding in Belfast.
There were high tides and flooding in streets in Devon and Cornwall but Tom Mansell, a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) divisional operations manager and flood rescue team leader, said the situation in the area so far had been better than expected.
"There has been flooding in places like Looe, Kingsbridge and Salcombe but it is not as bad as we had been expecting," he said.
Mr Mansell reiterated messages from the emergency services and the Environment Agency that the biggest danger was people going to the coast to look.
"They don't understand how dangerous the sea can be," he said. "We would say please, please keep away from this water."
Meanwhile, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has said the Environment Agency will protect front-line flood defence services despite the agency confirming hundreds of job cuts.
Peter Fox, Environment Agency: "People need to take extreme caution"
About 1,500 jobs will be lost at the agency although it is not clear how many flood-related posts will go.
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman said that while they were spending £2.3bn tackling the risk of flooding and coastal erosion, the agency was making its own choices about "how best to use their resources".
Emergency meetingThe Environment Agency has issued about 350 lower-level flood alerts and warnings across England and Wales.
The severe flood warnings relate to areas in Dorset, the River Severn in Gloucestershire and coastal areas of Wales.
Harry Martin, 18, went missing in Devon The Met Office has warned of rain and wind in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson chaired the government's emergencies committee Cobra to discuss the weather situation.
BBC political correspondent Carole Walker said the committee met for about an hour for an update on the situation.
The meeting was told 3,500km (2,170 miles) of coastal flood defences were tested by the overnight storms and 130,000 homes were protected.
Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted he was ensuring that flood help was fully in place.
In other developments:
- Dyfed Powys Police said residents on Aberystwyth seafront had been advised to evacuate their properties and get shelter at a school
- Police have named a missing teenager in Devon as 18-year-old Harry Martin, who was last seen in Membland, Newton Ferrers, on Thursday
- About 30 properties were flooded in Cardigan, where a pregnant woman was rescued
- A severe hail storm has swept through Cambridgeshire, leading to difficult driving conditions
- Four families had to be evacuated from their homes in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, after lightning struck a block of flats
- The Thames Barrier was reopened at about 16:00 GMT after being closed earlier in the afternoon for high tide
- Bristol City Council has put in place its flood barrier kit for the first time, along Avon Crescent where it meets the Cumberland Basin
- The River Severn burst its banks at Minsterworth, in Gloucestershire
- The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued dozens of flood warnings, but at present none of them are "severe"
BBC Weather's John Hammond takes a look at the source of our stormy weather which lies in huge North American temperature differences
The combination of strong winds from an Atlantic depression and high tides led to dramatic waves 
West Wales, as seen here in Aberystwyth, is being battered by the Irish Sea 
Student Thomas Rule filmed this video of flooding in his flat - and Aberystwyth seafront
Thousands of homes have suffered power cuts due to the recent storms, with some cut off for several days, while many properties have been flooded following bad weather during the Christmas period.
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Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution have announced compensation arrangements for those affected by power cuts over Christmas.
"We are extending our goodwill payments so that any customer who was without electricity for any time on Christmas Day, regardless of the duration of the power cut, will be guaranteed £75," the company said.
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