Police reported many incidents over the last few days as a result of the strong winds and high levels of rain.
A tree came down across the Hellescott Bridge at North Petherwin on Monday, completely blocking the road.
Police also received reports of other trees down, one on the road from St Stephen’s to Egloskerry — the downed tree on the road adjacent to Launceston Golf Club blocked one lane and caused long delays as buses and heavy goods vehicles were unable to pass through the narrow gap.
As winds reached speeds of up to 60mph or 70mph in certain areas, with highs of 80mph in exposed coastal regions, many residents were affected.
Several villages were left without power as trees fell on power lines and the high winds caused havoc.
Police received reports from Western Power Distribution that power lines were down in Lynstone Road, Bude. The public was advised to seek an alternative route and to slow down in the area.
There were also power cuts at Linkinhorne and Delabole, leaving many without power from Monday until the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Many schools were forced to shut as well due to lack of power, including Tintagel, St Petroc’s and Lifton.
More than half the villagers in St Breward were left without power for over 12 hours on Monday when, due to high wind speeds, a telegraph pole snapped, cutting the power supply. Initially, around 1,000 residents were cut off from the mains while the snapped pole was dealt with.
Work started at 8am to replace the broken pole, with Anthony Coad on the ground and John Allen from St Breward working tirelessly to restore electricity to the village’s residents.
Half the surrounding village’s power was switched back on after about five hours and the other half, including the centre of the village, was reconnected after over 12 hours at around 10pm.
What stood out noticeably to resident Peter Glaser was the ultra clear stars sparkling with energy not seen for a while. He said: “The sudden lack of light pollution both in the village and surrounds meant the stars stood out so noticeably with a break in the clouds — quite wondrous to behold!”
The Met Office has been issuing warnings to remind people that a combination of gales, large waves, especially during high tides, and heavy showers will lead to an increased flood risk.
Due to the large waves at Widemouth Bay there were reports of sand blocking the road at Marine Drive. Highways informed the public that the police were not attending the scene and that people were advised to seek an alternative route.
Due to strong gales a lorry overturned on the A30 near Bolventor.
Flood warnings were issued on Monday to Camelford, Bude and Launceston.
The flood alert has since been lifted from Camelford but there are still warnings in place advising residents of Launceston to be aware flooding is possible. For Bude there are no severe flood warnings but some flooding is still to be expected and immediate action is required.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service were kept busy over the weekend with calls to weather-related incidents.
Occupants of several vehicles trapped by floodwater were rescued by fire crews and were taken to safety.
Reports came from Launceston of a person stuck in a van in floodwater. Two appliances from Launceston Fire Station, two from Bude, water rescue vehicles from St Austell and Bude attended the incident.
The crews were then able to rescue the person from 3ft of slow flowing water, using a hose inflation kit and a boat to push them back to dry land.
Bude Fire Station carried out a separate water rescue and attended one person who had become stuck in a river. Crews then stood down as the casualty was rescued by the Devon and Cornwall Police.
Jonathan Day, Environment Agency duty flood risk manager, said: “We understand it is tempting to see the force of Mother Nature but people should take extreme care on coastal paths and not put themselves and rescue workers at risk.
“Please listen to the advice of the coastguard and the police about safe places to be.
“Flooding of low lying coastal roads is also possible and people should also avoid driving through flood water.
“There is also continued risk of minor river flooding into next week in the south and south west of England as rivers will continue to rise in response to recent rainfall.”
The advice is to drive carefully and allow extra time for journeys, the Environment Agency flood warnings are available at https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk and the public can keep up to date with the latest situation on GOV.UK or follow @EnvAgency and #floodaware on Twitter for the latest updates.