Communities urged to remain vigilant.
Current situation
We have urged communities across south west England to remain vigilant as flooding continues to affect the region, in particular Devon, Dorset and Somerset.
Two Severe Flood Warnings are currently in place for:
- River Bride at Burton Bradstock
- River Axe in Axminster
People in the areas affected by Severe Flood Warnings are urged to stay in a safe place, listen to the emergency services and be ready to evacuate homes. Alerts were first issued to properties about the risk of flooding yesterday (Friday) evening.
Work on the ground
Our officers are out on the ground and a team is assisting fire and rescue teams to pump out flooded properties in Yealmpton.
Teams also worked through the night across the region, and elsewhere across the country, to clear river blockages, monitor river levels and issue flood warnings. Over 18,000 properties have received flood warnings from the Environment Agency in the past few days.
Parts of East Devon and West Dorset have received between 75 mm and 120 mm of rain in the past 24 hours – more than a month’s worth of rain in a day. Our river gauges have recorded record levels at numerous locations including the River Otter at Ottery St Mary and River Bride at Burton Bradstock.
Heavy rain is continuing to affect parts of South West England today, especially Devon and Dorset, leading to a possibility of further significant disruption from river and surface water flooding.
People are urged to stay away from dangerous flood water, and not to walk or drive through it.
Nationally, there are 2 Severe Flood Warnings, 72 Flood Warnings and 143 Flood Alerts. We have encouraged communities to remain vigilant by checking our website for the latest information and be ready to move valuable possessions to safety. It also urged holidaymakers and campsites across the south west to keep up to date with the weather forecast and flood risk.
The heaviest rain has now cleared west Devon with only occasional showers to follow, however rain is continuing to fall in east Devon, south Somerset and Dorset. Only occasional showers are likely over the rest of England and Wales. On Sunday, there is a low risk of surface water flooding as heavy showers affect parts of northern, central, south eastern and eastern England.
Follow us
We update our flood guidance every 15 minutes on our website and you can follow the Environment Agency on Twitter at @EnvAgency.
You can follow the Met Office on Twitter at @metoffice and Facebook.
