A NUMBER of flood alerts have been issued by the Environment Agency for Sussex ahead of Storm Ciara, which is set to bring winds of up to 75mph. 

Storm Ciara, which is currently making its way across the Atlantic, is set to hit today.

Flood alerts have now been issued for Shoreham Harbour, as well as Littlehampton, Seaford and Rustington.

The Environment Agency said flooding of properties is not forecast at this point and its incident response staff are checking defences and liaising with emergency services.

The RNLI is encouraging people to take extreme caution if visiting the shoreline, especially along exposed cliffs, seafronts and piers.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for “very strong winds” from midnight on Saturday until midnight on Sunday.

The Met Office said injuries and danger to life from flying debris and large waves could be possible while some damage to buildings could also occur.

Road, rail, air and ferry services could also be affected, with potential for power cuts and disruption to mobile phone coverage.

Weather forecasting service MetDesk said Storm Ciara is set to bring “damaging” winds.

Posting on Twitter, MetDesk said: “Whilst this output is considered at the top end of what can be expected, the wind gusts associated with #StormCiara on Sunday look damaging. Two comparable storms to this would be Storm Doris in January 2017 and the severe gales of January 2007.”

Network Rail has said a 50mph speed restriction has been planned for every line in the south east region which includes all lines heading to the coast from London Waterloo, London Victoria, London Charing Cross and London Bridge.

This will be in place from 11am until 7pm and disruption is expected to last at least until the end of the day and potentially into Monday morning too.

Passengers are urged to check before they travel on both days.

Operators affected include Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express, Southeastern and South Western Railway.