:00:09. > :00:15.thousands left without power in the wake of the latest storms. More than
:00:16. > :00:19.30 diners are rescued at a seafront restaurant in Hampshire. To look at
:00:20. > :00:24.it, it almost looked as if the windows were bending, then all of a
:00:25. > :00:29.sudden the outside of the windows started smashing. In Hertfordshire,
:00:30. > :00:34.houses are evacuated after a huge sinkhole opens up. And, Lizzie
:00:35. > :00:53.Yarnold collects her Gold medal in Sochi.
:00:54. > :00:59.Hello there, good evening to you. Two people have died and tens of
:01:00. > :01:02.thousands of homes are without power following last night's ferocious
:01:03. > :01:08.storms. Severe flood warnings are still in place in 16 areas, many of
:01:09. > :01:12.them along the River Thames. In Hampshire more than 30 people had to
:01:13. > :01:16.be rescued by the army from a seafront restaurant. Our
:01:17. > :01:21.correspondent, Chris Buckler is there. Chris. As the sun goes down
:01:22. > :01:25.on the south coast the light is fading on this debris and
:01:26. > :01:32.destruction. These huge big lumps of masonry that you can see along the
:01:33. > :01:35.seafront here. As light fades people aren't forgetting the stress and
:01:36. > :01:40.destruction caused by last night's storm. Edge of the ocean lies
:01:41. > :01:44.evidence of its power. This seafront littered with the debris and
:01:45. > :01:50.destruction of a fierce storm. Cars were no match for crashing waves.
:01:51. > :01:54.This sea view put diners in the path of danger. Today, rocks and shingle
:01:55. > :01:59.had to be cleared from the front of the marine restaurant. They were
:02:00. > :02:03.thrown up by the sea, shattering windows, during what was supposed to
:02:04. > :02:08.be a romantic meal on Valentine's night. The pebbles hitting the
:02:09. > :02:12.windows were like bullets. Smashing the windows. Smashing double
:02:13. > :02:16.glazing. Big boulders being hurled. That is when the fear factor came
:02:17. > :02:21.into people. The army helped the emergency services rescue more than
:02:22. > :02:24.30 people who found themselves trapped in the restaurant as it
:02:25. > :02:29.started to flood. We wouldn't have opened if we thought it would be
:02:30. > :02:33.anywhere as near as bad as it was. This was totally exceptional. No-one
:02:34. > :02:37.was seriously injured here, the harsh extremes of this winter's
:02:38. > :02:44.weather have again claimed lives. At sea an 85-year-old man was killed
:02:45. > :02:48.when a freakwave hit a cruise ship. In London, a taxi driver died when
:02:49. > :02:54.masonry fell from a building, crushing her car. Julie Sillito was
:02:55. > :02:59.49 and had three grownup sons. Weather warnings are still in place.
:03:00. > :03:02.Fallen trees have again left tens of thousands of families without power.
:03:03. > :03:06.This is a vast national effort where we are bringing all the resources of
:03:07. > :03:11.our country together. What we do in the next 24-hours is vital because
:03:12. > :03:19.tragically the river levels will rise again. Safety is still a
:03:20. > :03:23.concern, particularly by the sea. These waves are impressive, but the
:03:24. > :03:28.police know they need to keep people away from them. Windier than we've
:03:29. > :03:32.ever known it. We have been here donkeys years. It's frightening. We
:03:33. > :03:36.wondered when the tiles would fly off. During the summer this is a
:03:37. > :03:40.tourist destination, this isn't the weather for beach huts. Besides,
:03:41. > :03:44.many of them have been destroyed. I've got a bit of a beach hut. I
:03:45. > :03:50.went to a lot of trouble to put a new lock on the door. I smeared it
:03:51. > :03:53.with marine grease, I'm sure it work ifs I can find the door and wall
:03:54. > :03:58.it's attached to. Some people have been searching for their belongings
:03:59. > :04:02.among the remains of the storm and attempting to start the long job of
:04:03. > :04:06.making repairs. Even then, they are having to battle the elements. You
:04:07. > :04:12.can imagine these beach huts were just full of memories, but you can
:04:13. > :04:16.see the state of some of them just completely destroyed. More problems
:04:17. > :04:20.this evening with so many people without electricity. As the waves
:04:21. > :04:23.calm down a little, people will be a little bit happier, none the less,
:04:24. > :04:28.there are a lot of people still concerned this evening. Chris, many
:04:29. > :04:32.thanks indeed for that. Residents of a straet in Hemel Hempstead were
:04:33. > :04:36.forced to leave their homes after an enormous sinkhole opened up
:04:37. > :04:42.overnight. They were evacuated by police early this morning as soon
:04:43. > :04:46.Assad the 35 foot wide hole was discovered. Jeremy Cooke reports.
:04:47. > :04:55.Corner of the road, on a suburbanest state, early morning drama. The
:04:56. > :05:00.ground has collapsed, a sinkhole, 35 feet wide, and 20 feet deep.
:05:01. > :05:06.Undermining the house and the road. The fear is that more will go, so
:05:07. > :05:12.the residents were evacuated in a hurry. I just had police knocking on
:05:13. > :05:16.the door at 7.30 am to say, "you need to evacuate, there is a
:05:17. > :05:20.sinkhole outside." I didn't get time to grab anything. Not even my purse
:05:21. > :05:26.or clothes. We just had to get out. It's worse than it looks. The hole
:05:27. > :05:30.goes several feet beneath the house and half way under the road. The
:05:31. > :05:36.danger is obvious, the locals have been told they will be away for
:05:37. > :05:41.days, maybe weeks. Could this all be weather related? That's one for the
:05:42. > :05:46.engineers, but already there are theories. Local residents tell us
:05:47. > :05:50.they are in no doubt the torrential rain of recent weeks has a lot to do
:05:51. > :05:54.with this. A reminder that all this water causes problems on our coasts,
:05:55. > :05:58.with our rivers, but underground as well. Sink holes have not been
:05:59. > :06:04.caused by the weather. They've been triggered by the weather. The cause
:06:05. > :06:09.is the existence of a cavity at depth, be it artificial or natural.
:06:10. > :06:14.The trigger is actually that water passing through the ground. At the
:06:15. > :06:19.moment, this increased number is largely a result of the increase in
:06:20. > :06:27.rainfall. It's not the first sinkhole to appear in recent times.
:06:28. > :06:34.This is high Wickham, two weeks ago. The M2 in Kent just a few days back.
:06:35. > :06:37.The weather may be improving, but in London and beyond the affects of the
:06:38. > :06:43.recent rain are still clear and present. Croydon's water treatment
:06:44. > :06:48.plant threatened with flooding, a major operation underway to hold the
:06:49. > :06:55.water back. Even now, nearby homes are still being evacuated. In
:06:56. > :07:01.Winchester, the army and Environment Agency are working flattout to slow
:07:02. > :07:06.the River Itchen, divert its course away from the city centre, as water
:07:07. > :07:13.levels rise, all fed by the rain of recent days. Jeremy Cooke, BBC
:07:14. > :07:21.News--. Flood levels will peak tomorrow. There is a see fear
:07:22. > :07:26.weather warning in place in Staines-upon-Thames. Staines didn't
:07:27. > :07:31.escape the storms. The floods are of a big concern. All day we have had
:07:32. > :07:35.volunteers here making sandbags, putting them in trucks and
:07:36. > :07:39.delivering them to people who still need there. There are more than 400
:07:40. > :07:43.tonnes of sand have been delivered by charities and businesses. The
:07:44. > :07:47.community here really feels with the Environment Agency stretched, with
:07:48. > :07:51.authorities stretched in other parts of the country dshgs's down to the
:07:52. > :07:54.local community to be able to lead the relief effort. The worry is in
:07:55. > :08:00.the coming days the weather might be fine, the rain that has fallen could
:08:01. > :08:04.see levels rise once again. Thanks. The second round of Syrian peace
:08:05. > :08:08.talks in Geneva has ended abruptly without making any progress. The UN
:08:09. > :08:12.enjoy, Lakatar Brahimi, apologised to the Syrian people, and said no
:08:13. > :08:15.date had been set ford further talks. The Foreign Secretary,
:08:16. > :08:19.William Hague, said the blame for the talks failing lies "squarely"
:08:20. > :08:23.with the regime of President Assad. The Now, with all the latest sport,
:08:24. > :08:33.here's Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes at the BBC Sport Centre. Thanks very
:08:34. > :08:36.much, good evening. Well, it's been another action-packed, but mixed day
:08:37. > :08:39.for Great Britain at the Winter Olympics. More cheers for Golden
:08:40. > :08:42.girl Lizzy Yarnold as she collected her skeleton medal, but heartache
:08:43. > :08:45.for Elise Christie in the speed skating, disqualified for the second
:08:46. > :08:47.time at these Games. Andy Swiss reports from Sochi. Disqualified on
:08:48. > :08:50.Thursday, surely it couldn't happen again? Elise Christie's dreams of
:08:51. > :08:55.redemption turned to another nightmare. She seemed to be safely
:08:56. > :08:59.through her 1500 m heat. The referee spotted she had skated just inside
:09:00. > :09:05.the black finish line and not over it. Technically she hadn't completed
:09:06. > :09:09.the race and was, therefore, out. Christie, who revealed she received
:09:10. > :09:12.threats on the internet after her disqualification in the 500 m was
:09:13. > :09:16.left once again distraught. I was playing safe after what happened the
:09:17. > :09:19.other day. I was trying not to touch anyone or not be anywhere near
:09:20. > :09:27.anyone. I don't have a clue what happened. I'm gobsmacked. As well as
:09:28. > :09:31.despair there was also unbridaled British delight. Lizzie Yarnold
:09:32. > :09:37.receiving her gold medal after her victory in the Skelton, so composed
:09:38. > :09:43.in competition, finally the emotions overflowed. Britain's newest Olympic
:09:44. > :09:47.Champion. For the British fans then a first golden moment in so Sochi.
:09:48. > :09:55.At the half way point of these Games there will be confidence of more
:09:56. > :09:58.medals to come. Now, it's the fifth round of the FA Cup this weekend.
:09:59. > :10:00.Last year's winners, Wigan, are through to the quarter-finals after
:10:01. > :10:03.beating Cardiff 2-1. The day's biggest fixture is still going on,
:10:04. > :10:11.Manchester City are playing Chelsea at the Etihad. Earlier, Sunderland
:10:12. > :10:15.beat Southampton. Craig Gardner's brilliant strike the only goal of
:10:16. > :10:17.the game at the Stadium of Light. The Scottish Premiership leaders,
:10:18. > :10:20.Celtic, play tomorrow, but in today's matches there were victories
:10:21. > :10:28.for Dundee United, Hibernian and Motherwell. Inverness drew with
:10:29. > :10:31.Hearts. In Paisley, Adam Rooney's penalty was the only goal in second
:10:32. > :10:35.placed Aberdeen's 1-0 win at St Mirren. Some of the biggest names in
:10:36. > :10:37.football have being paying tribute today to one of England's greatest
:10:38. > :10:42.players, Sir Tom Finney, who died last night, aged 91. Famous, not
:10:43. > :10:45.only for his goals, but also for his loyalty, playing his entire career
:10:46. > :10:55.at Preston North End. Stuart Flinders looks back on his life. In
:10:56. > :11:00.death, as he had been if life, Sir Tom Finney was applauded
:11:01. > :11:05.enthusiastically here today. Preston North End supporters celebrated his
:11:06. > :11:13.life before his team's match against Leyton Orient this afternoon. Those
:11:14. > :11:18.who played on the same pitch as him recall it as a privilege. I always
:11:19. > :11:23.looked at him being a national sporting icon. You know, I would
:11:24. > :11:27.rank him as probably one of the greatest sportsmen we produced
:11:28. > :11:32.really in these islands. Sir Tom made more than 400 appearances for
:11:33. > :11:37.Preston between 1946 and 1960,, he is one of England's all-time highest
:11:38. > :11:40.goal scorers. He remained at deep deal throughout his career. The club
:11:41. > :11:45.refusing a move to Italy at a time when his wages were ?14 a week. I
:11:46. > :11:50.think the greatest personal satisfaction I got was being
:11:51. > :11:55.fortunate enough to be born I think with the skill which enabled me to
:11:56. > :12:01.play a game I loved playing and would willingly have played it for
:12:02. > :12:04.nothing. His father insisted he finished his apprenticeship as a
:12:05. > :12:07.plumber. A trade he returned to in later years. Most of these
:12:08. > :12:13.supporters are too young to have seen him play, but his remained the
:12:14. > :12:16.most famous face in Preston, long after he retired. His modesty is as
:12:17. > :12:28.legendary as his talent. That's the sport, back to you Benn.
:12:29. > :12:30.That's it for now. We're back with the late news at 10.40pm.