On Thursday, most of northern Europe braced itself for heavy weather and gale-force winds from the east, with authorities warning that floods might pose major issues in inland Danish waters, the Baltic Sea and the north of the UK.

According to Danish network TV2, the region will likely experience the greatest floods in 110 years, and waves along east-facing shores might reach 4 meters (13 feet).

The Met Office issued a rare red alert – the highest level of weather warning – for portions of Scotland on Thursday and Friday, warning of "exceptional rainfall" and the prospect of "danger to life" from severe flooding. In the UK, the most recent red alert was issued in 2020.

The storm, dubbed Storm Babet by UK officials, flooded many towns and villages in Ireland, with some places still under water and without electricity on Thursday. Soldiers assisted with evacuation procedures in Midleton, County Cork, where more than 100 properties were inundated.

In Denmark, residents scrambled to place sandbags along exposed areas. In Assens on the central island of Funen, the Danish Emergency Management Agency was deploying huge rubber tubes in the harbor to counter rising water levels, TV2 said. Southern Denmark police urged people along the east coast to leave exposed areas if the weather predictions remain, saying cottages, harbors and other places could be flooded.

The southwestern Danish town of Koege wrote on its Facebook page that emergency workers were busy filling sandbags and urged citizens to "avoid unnecessary baths, dishes, laundry and other water-intensive activities," saying "the municipality’s treatment plant was at risk of being overloaded."

Copenhagen's airport and the Danish national rail company warned of cancellations and delays Friday because of bad weather.

Several ferry lines between Danish islands were suspended, as were ferries to Rostock in northern Germany and to Oslo.

Swedish meteorologists also issued a warning for the south coast from Friday evening and Saturday. They said that the water level in southern parts of Sweden may reach its highest level since the 1990s.

In Germany, authorities warned of high water in bays in Schleswig-Holstein, south of the Denmark border, until mid-Saturday.

Authorities also warned of high water in the next two days on the Baltic Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's northernmost state, with water levels of up to 2 meters (6.6 feet) above average possible in the inlet where the city of Flensburg is located. Some ferries to the North Sea islands of Foehr and Amrum were delayed or canceled, German news agency dpa reported.

Norwegian meteorologists said a strong low-pressure area over Great Britain combined with high pressure over northern Scandinavia was creating strong east-northeasterly winds, with "very strong gusts" expected to hit southern Norway from the east.

(With input from AP)