Why did the floods happen?
On 19 July the Met Office forecast heavy rainfall for central and southern England.
On 20 July intense heavy rain fell across the Loddon catchment from the early hours of the morning until early afternoon. Bracknell rain gauge, the nearest to the Loddon catchment, recorded 61.6mm of rain between 05.00 hrs and 14.00 hrs. During the morning Berkshire Fire and Rescue received a number of calls from properties experiencing surface water flooding.
An Environment Agency River Inspector visited the area during the morning and confirmed that there was surface water flooding and river levels were beginning to rise.
River levels on the Emm Brook continued to rise and imminent property flooding was forecast. Many roads in the area were affected.
All floodwater receded during 21 July. No further flooding was forecast to occur.
Where did the floods take place?
Wokingham and Winnersh from the Emm Brook. The following main roads were flooded in and around those locations: A321 (Oaky Drive Roundabout), Finchampstead Road, Barkham Road, Tanhouse Lane, Molly Millars Lane.
What did we do during the floods?
What do we do to forecast where flooding would happen?
We use the latest technology 24 hours a day to monitor rainfall, river levels and sea conditions. We can provide local area forecasts on the possibility of flooding and how severe it will be. We use this information to know when to issue flood warnings. We can only offer a flood forecasting and warning service on rivers where we have monitoring facilities. We are able to monitor river levels on the River Loddon and the Emm Brook. As the river levels rose in response to the rainfall on the 19 and 20 July, we predicted that properties would flood so we issued flood warnings based on these predictions.
How did we warn the public?
We issued the following Flood Warnings for communities in this area:
- Flood Watch 18.25 hrs 19 July Loddon catchment (including the Emm Brook through Wokingham and Winnersh).
- Flood Warning 14.02 hrs 20 July Loddon: Emm Brook (Chapel Green to Sandford Mill)
Flooding on the Emm Brook happened very quickly and so it was not possible to issue the Flood Warning much in advance of property flooding.
Throughout the floods we used a number of different ways to warn people of the risk of flooding from rivers. We use a combination of these methods depending on the information and systems that are available in that area. Examples of these are:
- Regular updates via the media on TV, radio and the internet.
- Floodline - information was available 24 hours a day, 7 days by calling 0845 988 1188.
- Live warnings in force were detailed on our website.
- Floodline Warnings Direct - sent warnings 24 hours a day by telephone, text message, email, fax or pager. Register by calling 0845 988 1188.
What impact did the floods have?
How many properties were flooded?
94 properties were flooded. 85 properties were flooded by water from the river, seven were flooded by rainfall run-off/surface water, and two were flooded by a combination of the two.
How did our flood defences perform during the floods?
No formal defences were overwhelmed in the Wokingham area during the flood event. However there was some flooding as a result of blockages in culverts that are not owned by the Environment Agency on the Emm Brook in Wokingham and Winnersh.
How did the floods impact on our infrastructure?
A number of roads were impassable due to surface water flooding. Also see ‘Where did the floods take place’, above, for roads affected in Wokingham.
Emm Brook School in Wokingham was flooded by water from the river.
What did we communicate during and after the floods?
Throughout the flood event, we recorded river level information for the River Loddon and the Emm Brook on our Floodline service. Live warnings in force were listed on our website. We issued flood warnings to people who had registered with us to receive warnings. We kept the appropriate local authorities, emergency services and other agencies informed of the flooding situation as it developed.
Across Thames Region, we had many staff out and about talking to people who were affected by the floods giving them advice on how to deal with the floods. We took part in 197 media interviews to warn people about what was happening.
Since then we have met members of the public in a flood surgeries on 14 September at Molly Millar’s Industrial Estate in Wokingham, and the Wokingham Borough Council Offices (both attended by approximately 20 to 30 people). We have listened to people’s concerns and answered a vast range of questions.
What maintenance do we do?
We have an annual maintenance programme in place on the River Loddon and the Emm Brook. This involves removing vegetation and debris as well as inspecting river banks and structures. We also visit the River Loddon’s tributaries more frequently to clear trash screens and blockages. This is carried out fortnightly in the summer months and weekly in the winter months. It is also carried out many times a day when heavy rainfall is predicted or a blockage is reported.
What are we doing in the future?
We welcome any feedback on the information you have seen or on the event itself . If you would like to do this please complete a feedback form.
