© Mark Kerrison/Demotix/CorbisFlooding from the river Thames at Datchet in Berkshire.
Heavy rain and winds of more than 60mph are predicted to die down throughout Sunday but the brief respite will be broken by another storm arriving Monday night. More storms will continue to batter Britain until next weekend, it is predicted.
In Chertsey, Surrey police are investigating whether flooding was linked to the death of a seven-year-old boy, named in reports as Zane Gbangbola, who died after feeling unwell. An elderly woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries after a tree fell on to her car in Birmingham.
The West Country has been left completely cut off by rail and operators have put on replacement bus services and slashed ticket prices for passengers. Flooding at Athelney and between Taunton and Bridgwater in Somerset means that all mainline routes to the region from London have been closed. The diversionary route via Yeovil is closed at Crewkerne because of a landslip and is expected to remain shut for up to a week.
A stretch of the rail line connecting Cornwall to the rest of the country fell into the sea at Dawlish in Devon when a section of the sea wall was destroyed by high tides and stormy seas.
Two severe flood warnings remained in place on Sunday morning in the Somerset Levels where many residents have already been forced from their homes after weeks of heavy rain. The Environment Agency has issued a third in the coastal village of Chiswell in Dorset.
The authorities are being assisted by the armed forces to shore up sea defences in the village that were damaged in last week's storms.
There are nearly 300 low-level flood alerts and almost 200 medium-risk flood warnings in place across Wales and southern and central England, while several hundred homes in Dorset, Surrey and Cornwall were without power.
In Croydon, south London, a pedestrian underpass will be turned into an emergency pond to hold hundreds of thousands of litres of floodwater threatening homes and businesses.
The communities secretary, Eric Pickles, chaired another meeting of the Cobra emergency committee on Saturday night and the prime minister, David Cameron, is expected to chair the meeting on Sunday.
Cameron has promised to do "everything he can" to help the flood-stricken communities. Pickles has taken a fresh swipe at the Environment Agency chief, Lord Smith, for his refusal to apologise to flood-hit victims.
The Met Office warned that river levels were expected to continue rising along the Thames, the Severn and the Dorset Stour in the coming week.
England has faced the wettest January since 1766 and with the ground already saturated further rainfall is increasing flood risk across the country, especially in the south.
Since before Christmas around 5,000 properties have been affected by flooding across the country, including 40 in Somerset.
Paul Gundersen, the Met Office chief meteorologist, said: "We have another Atlantic storm bringing gales and heavy downpours to many parts of the UK this weekend.
"Monday is expected to bring a brief respite from the stormy conditions before more strong winds and rain set in from the west on Tuesday. This will bring the continuing risk of flooding and damaging winds bringing down trees to cause disruption to travel and power networks."
The Ministry of Defence has put 1,600 personnel on six hours' notice to help in the south of the country if needed.
Environment Agency staff have been out in force across England installing flood defences, repairing damaged coastal defences, deploying sandbags and clearing river blockages.
In East Sussex the ruined 148-year-old, Grade-I listed West Pier in Brighton survived another night of stormy weather after a large section collapsed into the English Channel on Wednesday.
Source: Press Association
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