Torrential downpours battered the South West of England today causing life-threatening floods as "colossal" levels of summer rain continued.
Devon was worst hit as three severe flood warnings were issued, while a man was killed in Northumberland when his car crashed off a rain-soaked road.
More than a month's worth of rain pelted parts of the country in just 24 hours, swelling rivers and streams, causing landslides and wreaking havoc on road and rail networks.
A member of the Fire services mans a pump outside a property near Yealmpton
Although the sustained downpours are likely to diminish over the weekend and the coming days, forecasters said rain will continue to fall in heavy bursts across the whole country for at least another week.
After more than two inches of rain fell in just 18 hours in Devon, the Environment Agency put parts of the Rivers Yealm, Axe and Burton on the highest grade flood warning, meaning they pose a "danger to life".
A total of around 75 flood warnings and 150 flood alerts were issued across England and Wales.
The River Yealm burst its banks leaving Yealmpton flooded
Residents and emergency services in Yealmbridge, Devon, were left with a huge clean-up operation after homes were overwhelmed with up to six feet of water when the Yealm burst through sandbags put in place in a bid to bolster its flood defences.
Muddy water marks streaked across houses, and tarmac on one of the roads in the small hamlet was ripped up under the weight of water that cascaded down the road.
Firefighters and teams from the Environment Agency were on the scene pumping water from around the white semi-detached houses.
Terrified villagers spoke of waking up to torrents of water raging through the streets.
Fourteen-year-old Mia Leech described "floods and floods of the river coming down the lane".
She said: "By the time we got half the stuff upstairs the water was already up to our necks and past our heads."
Water flowed over car roofs, the fridge was knocked over and furniture had been moved around.
"My little brother was scared and I had a friend sleeping over and we were both just traumatised, we couldn't go downstairs," she added.
In nearby Yealmpton around 40 homes and 75 residents on one side of the river were affected as water gushed into houses.
The river reached a record high of seven and a half feet, the Environment Agency said.
Villager Tony Stearn said he had not seen anything like the flooding in 26 years.
"We were fairly fortunate as we are actually a bit raised up here, so luckily we were within about six inches of the house actually getting flooded, but the water level was tremendously up," the 61-year-old retail business manager said.
"It's normally only about 18 inches deep at this time of year."
Some residents were evacuated and were being sheltered in a local rescue centre, while others choose to stay in their homes.
Elsewhere, residents in the Leicestershire village of Sheepy Magna were evacuated from their homes after flooding.
The road crash victim in Northumberland, who was in his early 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision in East Tynedale, Northumberland, at 12.25am.
Brendan Jones, a forecaster with Meteogroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "The summer so far has seen a colossal amount of rain and the last 24 hours have been no exception."
He said Dunkeswell in Devon had two inches (53mm) of rain between 6pm on Friday and midday today, while Exeter saw 1.7 inches (43mm) in the same time frame.
Turning to the coming week and beyond, he said: "There is some good news.
"Tonight and the next couple of days aren't going to be as bad as the last couple of days. The heavy rain in the South at the moment is going to pass overnight.
"There will be sunshine and showers for just about the whole country. The showers will be heavy and there will be thunderstorms as well."
The Environment Agency said there were no parts of England and Wales with a high or medium risk of flooding tomorrow, with most regions at a low risk.
For Monday, England and Wales were put at a "very low risk".
The outlook is not looking summery until mid-July at the earliest, according to the Meteogroup forecaster.
"We are fairly confident what the weather is going to do in the next seven to 10 days," Mr Jones said.
"I don't think the showers on Tuesday are going to be as heavy as they are on Sunday and Monday.
"But on Thursday, Friday and possibly into the weekend we are just going to see the return of the heavy showers.
"Not in the next 10 days is there anything resembling reasonable summer conditions."
Train services between Yeovil Pen Mill in Somerset and Weymouth in Dorset were cancelled because lines were blocked, and no trains were running between Yeovil Junction and Exeter St Davids in Devon because of flooding.
An earlier obstruction on the line near Torre in Hampshire forced trains between Newton Abbot and Paignton, both Devon, to be cancelled.
Labour accused the Government of failing to help communities hit by floods in recent weeks.
Shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh said: "We welcome the fact that the Government will help councils with the cost of the clean-up.
"But communities in the North who were flooded in the last fortnight are still waiting to receive any direct help from government."