Heavy rain could bring more chaos to parts of Britain already devastated by the worst flooding in 60 years, the Met Office warned today.
Forecasters issued severe weather warnings for much of southern England and Wales, with up to 4cm of rain expected to fall in six to nine hours from this evening.
Earlier a man's body was found in a submerged field near the town of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, where flooding has damaged thousands of homes and left many without running water.
His death brought the toll in a month of flooding to at least nine, police said.
The wettest summer since records began has brought two bouts of flooding across England, wrecking houses, businesses and farmland and causing £3 billion pounds of damage.
Aerial pictures showed towns in the southwest transformed into islands, with buildings on higher ground surrounded by dirty, brown water.
More than 130,000 homes are relying on bottled water and emergency water tanks placed on the streets.
With more heavy rain forecast this weekend, police in Gloucestershire said people should stay at home or risk becoming stranded and hindering the emergency services.
"Do think twice, maybe three times, if you really have to go out," the force's Chief Constable Tim Brain said. "It could be wet and wild. Maybe the best place for you tonight is a good night at home."
Forecasters issued severe weather warnings for much of southern England and Wales, with up to 4 cms of rain expected to fall in six to nine hours from Saturday evening.
Swollen rivers could burst their banks, while surface water may cause flash floods. Drivers were warned to stay off the roads in parts of the southwest.
However, the Environment Agency said the risk of flooding was "significantly lower" than from earlier storms that submerged large areas and killed at least eight people.
"We don't believe the levels will return to the sort of levels that we had last week," a spokesman said.
With thousands still without mains water, police stepped up patrols on Saturday around emergency water tanks after some were vandalised. There was case of someone urinating in a water tank.
Police warned that bogus callers posing as water company workers may take advantage of the disruption to steal from people's houses. Severn Trent Water said it would "still be some time" before clean running water is restored to all houses.