Dramatic video shows storm waves crash over sea wall and drench passers-by

A dramatic video shows waves crashing over Exmouth’s sea wall as passers-by end up getting drenched. Weather warnings from the Met Office and the Environment Agency had been put in place on Monday night as Storm Pierrick, named by Meteofrance, arrived in Devon.

Predictions from the Met Office suggest general gusts of 45-55mph (72-89km/h), increasing to 60-65mph (97-105km/h) on exposed coasts, were likely to have been reached overnight. The Environment Agency had also warned that flooding was possible over the high tide on Monday evening in Exmouth when high water was reached.

Exmouth's seafront floodgates, and the Mamhead Slipway floodgates, had been closed by East Devon District Council and volunteer residents, following advice from the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency was predicting a 2.78m tide with a 500mm river flood surge and a 4m tidal surge, with the river and tidal surge due to occur at the same time as the high tide.

Read More

• Live: Trees down and traffic light failure as storm hits Devon

• Dramatic scenes as storm sees beach huts washed into the sea

Some people though decided to brave the weather conditions and take a walk along the seafront. And in a video sent into DevonLive by Stuart Preestley, you can see they may have regretted doing so.

The video shows the waves crashing over the sea wall as one person tries to dodge them. But the member of the public then gets drenched as the waves hit the sea wall. Two more members of the public are then hit by the crashing waves later in the video.

Elsewhere in the region, Porthleven's sea wall suffered damage with debris scattered across Harbour Road. While in Falmouth , at least two beach huts were swept into the sea, as the dramatic videos show. Falmouth Coastguard had issued a warning about a combination of strong winds, spring tides and storm surges.

The Met Office advised the public of the potential risk of injury from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and seaside properties. The warning also highlighted the possibility of power cuts and potential travel delays on roads, railways, ferries, and even at airports.

Harry Walton, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Due to a combination of spring tides and strong winds generating storm surge and large waves, minor coastal flooding impacts are probable for parts of England on Monday and Tuesday.

"Environment Agency teams are out on the ground, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding and support those communities affected. We urge people to stay safe on the coast, take extreme care on coastal paths and promenades, and we advise people not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.”