UK storms: 100mph winds hit in 'almost unparalleled natural crisis'
BBC reporter Jon Kay is hit by a huge wave at Lyme Regis Cobb, in Dorset
Winds gusting over 100mph are lashing parts of the UK in what the assistant chief of the defence staff describes an "almost unparalleled natural crisis".
It comes after the Met Office issues its first "red warning" of the winter, meaning there is a "risk to life", with widespread damage expected.
Power to thousands of homes has been cut off and transport has been disrupted by the hurricane-force winds.
Sixteen severe flood warnings remain for Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset.
Assistant chief of the defence staff Major General Patrick Sanders, who is coordinating the armed forces response, described the floods as an "almost unparalleled natural crisis".
In the Commons, David Cameron repeated his pledge that "money is no object in this relief effort".
He unveiled a package of measures to help businesses and homeowners repairing flood-damaged property to build in new defences and said small businesses affected by flooding would get 100% relief from business rates.
Strong winds have been sweeping through swathes of the UK More than 50,000 homes in Wales are without power - 42,000 in South Wales and 10,000 in North Wales - as a result of the strong winds and military help has been offered to First Minister Carwyn Jones.
In the Republic of Ireland, more than a quarter of a million homes are without power. Counties Cork and Kerry have been worst affected by the high winds.
Elsewhere in the UK, 8,100 homes are without power in south-west England and 10,000 in the West Midlands are also cut off.
Strong winds tore the roof of Limerick Boat Club in the Republic of Ireland
The Met Office said a wind gust of 108mph was recorded at Aberdaron, North Wales - the strongest wind gust on land of the recent storms.
Gusts of 110mph were recorded at sea off the coast of the southern Irish Republic while at Mumbles Head, South Wales, 92mph was recorded.
Electric power cables and trees have been brought down by winds of up to 94mph, blocking roads in Devon and Cornwall.
West Wales and north-west England are the areas likely to get hit by high-speed winds, the Met Office has said. The Met Office said: "Winds of this strength can cause widespread structural damage, bringing down trees and also leading to loss of power supplies."
They advised people to change their travel plans during the storm-force winds.
The advice came as it was announced that the West Coast Main Line will close at 19:00 GMT due to high winds. Robin Gisby, managing director for network operations at Network Rail, said it would be closed for a couple of hours.
The M6 Thelwall Viaduct has been closed in both directions between junctions 20 and 21 and drivers have been warned by the Highways Agency to expect delays.
BBC forecaster Darren Bett told the News Channel red weather warnings were very rare.
"You usually get one or two per year. It's the highest level of alert - it's very serious, it's life threatening and it means people should take action now. It does not get any worse than that," he says.
Other updates include:
- The QEII bridge at the Dartford crossing in Kent has been closed due to high winds
- Shannon airport in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland has also been shut because of strong wind and an empty aircraft at the airport was tipped over onto its wing
- There are still major disruptions for several rail services, with severe delays between Reading and London due to flooding near Maidenhead
- BBC forecasters say a month's worth of rainfall is expected to fall in parts of southern England over the next few days
- The Environment Agency warns more homes will be flooded as rivers in Herefordshire and Worcestershire continue rising
- Staff from the agency were withdrawn from Wraysbury, Berkshire, for a short time following verbal abuse by some local people
- The latest maps showing how the UK is being affected can be found here.
Further evacuations have been carried out in Egham, Surrey 
Residents in Egham make their way through a flooded street 
Waters in Worcester continue to rise 
High waves crash against the promenade in Dover, Kent Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron told MPs there would be "no penny pinching" when it came to funding flood relief effort and the government would "spend whatever is necessary" on immediate support for flood-affected communities, including sandbags and military help.
But Labour leader Ed Miliband said he had doubts about this "grand promise" of financial help and those still at risk needed a "speedier response".
Cameras have been allowed to film a Cobra emergency meeting for the first time
He urged the government to reconsider planned cuts to the Environment Agency and said it should be spending more on flood defences in the future to make the UK more resilient.
Mr Cameron accused his Labour counterpart of "dividing the nation" over the issue of flooding at a time when the country should be pulling together in the face of adversity.
BBC News Channel chief political correspondent Norman Smith said: "I think it's true to say that Mr Cameron won himself big and bold headlines with his assertion that money was no object.
"But today that assertion is looking a lot less big and bold and may in fact be much more of a political millstone.
"This is because we have learned this is not new money, this is money from existing departmental contingency budgets and this means that money is much more limited."
Aides to the prime minister say the pledge related to the present relief effort and not to any wider spending commitment.
A source accused critics of "deliberate mischief making" by suggesting the prime minister was backtracking on his commitment to provide whatever money was necessary for the current crisis.
BBC Weather forecaster John Hammond
Earlier on Wednesday, the prime minister chaired a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee on the flood crisis. He will lead another meeting at 17:30 GMT.
Chancellor George Osborne was among those at the meeting even though he does not normally attend - our correspondent said this was "to rein in any of his colleagues who suddenly thought that the coffers were open and they could help themselves".
Environment Agency chief executive Paul Leinster told the committee that water levels could rise to "higher than current levels" over the weekend, with particular concerns about the Thames between Oxford to Maidenhead and also below Maidenhead.
'Unprecedented' floodingMore than 1,000 homes have been evacuated along the Thames after towns and villages including Wraysbury, Chertsey and Datchet were flooded.
Chief Supt Matt Twist, of Surrey Police, said the flooding in the county was "unprecedented" and warned that a further 2,500 homes were at risk.
An 85-year-old resident forced to leave her bungalow in one Surrey village spent the night at an evacuation centre.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was a "terrible experience". "I want to go, I want to get out of it [community evacuation centre] really, because you can't live like this, can you?
"I know everybody's in the same boat but I can't go back home."
Further evacuations have been taking place in the Staines and Egham area. Almost 6,000 properties have been flooded altogether in the past two months.
About 100 properties remain flooded on the Somerset Levels, where extra pumps are being brought in from the Netherlands, and groundwater flooding is also expected in the coming days in Hampshire, Kent and parts of London.
As well as 16 severe flood warnings, the Environment Agency has also issued about 400 less serious flood warnings and alerts, mostly in southern England and the Midlands.
The agency said it looked "increasingly likely" there would be problems along the River Severn and River Wye.
And it said groundwater levels were so high in some parts of the country that flooding was likely to persist for weeks or even months flooding was likely to persist for weeks or even months.
Continue reading the main storyThames Valley flooding
1,135
homes flooded since 29 January
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2,500 homes at risk
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30,000 sandbags distributed
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5,800 homes flooded since Dec
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£630m economic damage
Nation-wide
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