- Eleven crewmen winched to safety after Aberdeen Coastguard were alerted to mayday call this morning
- Huge waves knocked 15 fishermen off their feet on Roker Pier in Sunderland
- One man in his 60s sustained a broken leg and was winched to safety by helicopter
- Pensioners evacuated from their homes in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire because of coastal flooding
- Risk of localised flooding as wet weather set to stay for weekend
By Anna Edwards and Anthony Bond
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A crewman has died and 11 others had to be rescued when stormy seas overcame their vessel in the North Sea.
The Vos Sailor was damaged and took on water during severe weather overnight. Coastguard launched a rescue mission after a mayday call at 4.30am and 11 crew members were winched to safety.
Police said one man was fatally injured however. His body has not yet been recovered.
Meanwhile, a major rescue operation took place in Sunderland this afternoon after 15 fishermen were knocked off their feet by waves which crashed over Roker Pier.
Scroll down for interactive map of the flooding
A family are caught in sea spray as the sea crashes into the coast in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire with high winds and rain washing away last week's snow
Authorities evacuated residents because of unusually high waters, which also affected other parts of Scotland
The men were fishing on the pier and a man in his 60s was left with a broken leg following the incident at 1.30pm. He was winched off the pier by helicopter and taken to hospital in Newcastle. Rescue teams were forced to evacuate the other men through a tunnel underneath the pier.
The stricken vessel in the North Sea, which was deployed on the Balmoral Oil field, sustained significant damage.
At present emergency services cannot board the boat, and are trying to return it to shore.
'It appears at this time that one crew member has suffered fatal injuries,' a Grampian Police spokesman said.
'Next of kin have been informed of this situation although no details can be confirmed at this time.
'Efforts are ongoing to recover the vessel which will be brought in to Aberdeen harbour in due course.
'As is normal in such circumstances a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.'
Aberdeen Coastguard was contacted just before 4.30am by a nearby installation who heard the faint mayday, as stormy weather wreaked havoc across the country.
Frightening: Huge waves knocked 15 fishermen off their feet on Roker Pier in Sunderland this afternoon. One man in his 60s sustained a broken leg and was winched to safety by a rescue helicopter. This is a file picture
The vessel in difficulty sustained significant damage and became disabled while on standby vessel duties 120 miles Northeast of Aberdeen.
Six other vessels, and three helicopters were sent to the scene. This includes the Coastguard Search and Rescue helicopter from Sumburgh, an RAF helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth and Bond 1 – the BP Jigsaw helicopter.
At the time, winds in the area were reported to be south-easterly 60-75 knots with 6.5 metre seas.
Non-essential crew on the nearby North Sea Producer, a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, were evacuated to other rigs as a precaution because the disabled boat was drifting.
The incident in Sunderland took place at about 1.30pm this afternoon. A total of 15 fisherman were hit by two huge waves, which knocked them off their feet.
Bev Allen, watch manager for Humber Coastguard, said: 'We had a number of people on the pier at Roker who were knocked off their feet. One sustained a broken leg and they all had to be evacuated off.
'They were anglers hit by two successive waves which knocked them all over. If anybody had of gone into the water it would have been very dangerous.'
The man with the broken leg was winched off the pier by a rescue helicopter while the remaining fisherman were evacuated through a tunnel under the pier. It has now been closed to the public.
More than 120 areas across the UK are on flood alert this morning with heavy rain set to lash the country over the weekend.
The Environment Agency increased the number of areas at risk overnight as rain continued for a second day.
While the worst affected places are in the South West, 128 areas across the South East, Midlands, central and northern England, Wales and southern and central Scotland are also on alert.
The weather has been so severe that pensioners were forced to flee their homes because of raging coastal floods in Aberdeenshire.
High tides and drastic conditions led to 25 people being taken from sheltered housing complexes at Stonehaven.
They were taken to St Bridget's Hall in the town, where a rest centre was set up.
Further north at Peterhead, about 30 people were evacuated from properties in the Roanheads area.
Some stayed with friends while others were given accommodation at a hotel, according to Aberdeenshire Council.
People at a care home in Huntly, which sits inland at the River Deveron, were told to prepare to leave but later given the all clear.
Willie Munro, of Aberdeenshire Council, said: 'Trained council staff and emergency services personnel are on hand at St Bridget's Hall to provide support for the people who have been evacuated.
'High tide in Stonehaven has passed and, while we continue to monitor the levels of the River Carron closely, there are currently no concerns that the river will flood.'
Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: 'Local emergency services moved quickly to deal with the aftermath of the flooding, which was caused by unusually high tides and high winds, in Stonehaven and Peterhead.
'Emergency staff are also monitoring the situation at Lossiemouth. They have all demonstrated the utmost professionalism in the face of very challenging weather conditions.
'Local residents affected by the floods have been moved to safety and offered support. I want to express my sympathy for their ordeal.'
The heavy rain is expected to stay for the weekend, before a brighter start to the week, although the rain will return on Thursday
A dog walker braves the waters to find a path alongside the floodwater from Pocklington Canal, Sutton upon Derwent, East Yorkshire
Authorities took the action because of unusually high waters, which also affected other parts of Scotland.
In Wick, on the far north coast, roads were closed and fishing boats were damaged in high winds.
About 12 cars were moved from a car park when a strong surge breached a river bank, police said.
Several roads were closed by debris thrown up by the waves.
A further 15 areas across the west, as well as in Northampton and Warrington, are expected to flood, the Environment Agency said.
Around 30 commercial properties were flooded yesterday in the coastal town of Looe, south Cornwall, as a band of heavy rain swept in from the Atlantic.
Tom Tombler, meteorologist for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: 'The heavy rain will affect mostly the western parts of the the UK and southern England as well as Wales.
'The risk of localised flooding remains throughout the day, especially in areas which saw heavy rain yesterday.
'Between 10mm and 20mm is expected in the worst-hit areas.
'Temperatures will remain milder though, around 10C for most areas.'
The heavy rain is expected to stay for the weekend, before a brighter start to the week, he added, although the rain will return on Thursday.
Firefighters praised the speedy actions of three hunters who found a man desperately clinging to a tree following a flash flood.
Early this morning crews were called to a brook, near the River Exe in Devon, which had swollen to around 6ft deep.
More than 12 firefighters helped rescue the man, who was taken to hospital suffering with hypothermia.
The fire service said it believed he had taken a wrong turn while walking back to his home in Exwick, near Exeter, before slipping into the brook.
Sean Faulkner, from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, said: 'Luckily there was a group of three gentlemen who were out hunting and they heard his cries, because it was in the middle of nowhere, and they raised the alarm.
'If it wasn't for the swift actions of the men and the crew it could have been a different outcome.'
A spokeswoman for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said crews received a 999 call to the incident at around 1.15am today.
She also added the service had received around 10 calls relating to flooding within the past 24 hours.
Yesterday Plymouth endured 29mm of rain, while Culdrose in west Cornwall received 21mm in 18 hours.
The Environment Agency is still advising people to stay away from seafronts, quaysides and jetties along the south coast to avoid powerful waves.
A spokesman said: 'The strong winds and high tides can be quite dangerous for people walking along the coast, with waves breaking on to coastal paths.'
The combination of warmer temperatures and flash floods have dashed hopes of a white Christmas.
Met Office forecaster George Goodfellow said: 'It's mild and wet at the moment and it looks unsettled with showers of spells of rain ahead all the way into January, with low pressure for much of the time.
'There's no signal for a colder spell in the Christmas period. Temperatures are expected to be around average - and snow is rare in the South in late December.
'There's always a higher chance of snow on hills and mountains in Scotland and the North, but there's no indication of a widespread wintry spell.
'Rain will be accompanied by strong winds and perhaps gales in exposed northern and western areas at times.'
MeteoGroup forecaster John Lee said:
'Christmas looks unsettled with south-westerly winds keeping it mild. A white Christmas is unlikely.'
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