South West England braces for Storm Austen, the season's first

People and businesses in Cornwall and Devon, in South West England, are preparing for Storm Austen, the first storm of the season. According to the Met Office, the UK's national weather service, the storm is expected to bring gusts of up to 80mph (130km/h) and heavy rain from Thursday night. Parts of Wales, England's south coast, Wiltshire and Somerset are also due to be affected.

Warnings

The Met Office has issued two weather warnings. A yellow wind warning runs from 00:00 to 14:00 BST on Friday for Devon, Cornwall, south Wales, England's south coast, Wiltshire and Somerset, with transport disruption likely and possible damaging winds in some areas. For Cornwall, the warning is raised to amber from 03:00 to 10:00, with power cuts and building damage among the possible consequences.

The Met Office advises people to check for loose items outside their homes, such as bins, garden furniture, trampolines, tents, sheds and fences, and to plan how to secure them.

Preparations on the ground

At The Watering Hole bar on Perranporth Beach in Cornwall, staff are fixing parts of the building down. The venue was damaged in January during Storm Goretti, when wind lifted a structure and sent it through a canopy, and the bar lost several glass panels. Staff member Jamie-Lee Job said the storm's severity had been underestimated that time.

Other Perranporth residents said they had stocked up on torches, candles and flasks in case of power cuts.

Cornwall Council is urging people to avoid exposed coastal areas on Thursday evening and Friday. In Devon, the Pebbleridge Kitchen cafe is moving furniture against the building and putting shutters down. The RNLI, the lifeboat charity, has urged extreme caution along the shoreline, and the Appledore crew says it is ready to launch at any time. Devon County Council has put extra staff in its Network Operations Control Centre and warned of possible fallen trees and branches on roads.