The Environment Agency today repeated its call for people in England & Wales to remain vigilant & prepared for flooding, as the Met Office forecast further heavy rain & strong winds across Wales, the Midlands, the North of England & the South East Coast.
It also urged people to sign up to the Environment Agency’s free flood warnings service, which sends alerts by text, phone and email to people whose homes are at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea.
Today’s rain could lead to some flooding today and into Saturday in Wales and the south coast – especially in areas that are already vulnerable to flooding after heavy rain earlier this week. Disruption caused by flooding of roads and fields is also expected across parts of the Midlands and the North East of England.
Further heavy showers and prolonged areas of heavy rain are forecast to spread across much of England and Wales today and continue into Saturday. However, the Met Office forecast that the showers should become lighter and much less frequent for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with many parts staying dry.
Over the past week the Environment Agency has mobilised teams across the country to check on flood defences, clear any river blockages and closely monitor river levels. These teams have been working around the clock to reduce the risk of flooding, and will be out in force again today and over the weekend.
Flood action
Following flooding in Wales and the South East earlier this week, Environment Agency teams have been out working on rivers in Ceredigion and Gwynedd, clearing excess gravel and removing trees and other debris swept downstream by flood waters, to prevent blockages causing further flooding. In the village of Pennal in Gwynedd teams are repairing flood banks damaged by flood waters, while in Penrhyncoch the Environment Agency is using heavy machinery to redirect the river back to its previous route, after flooding covered the main road, leaving residents cut off.
The Environment Agency has also has deployed pumping equipment in Felpham, Bognor Regis and around the Manhood Peninsula to pump out flood waters from the worst affected areas.
Flood warnings
The Environment Agency currently has two flood warnings (meaning that flooding is expected) for rivers in place. There are also 21 flood alerts for rivers across England and Wales, meaning that flooding is possible.
This week the Environment Agency has issued flood warnings to over 32,500 properties, while its flood defences have protected around 17,000 properties.
The Environment Agency urged the public to remain vigilant and check its website and Twitter feed for the latest updates and flood warnings. It also advised the public to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through floodwater. The latest weather forecasts and warnings are produced by the Met Office who are on Twitter and Facebook.
