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Environment Agency warns of severe flooding

Areas at greatest likelihood of severe flooding include Derbyshire, Lancashire, South and West Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Greater Manchester, Blackburn, Blackpool, Warrington, Cheshire and Halton.

Currently there are three Flood Warnings and 89 Flood Alerts in place, however more Alerts, Warnings and potentially Severe Flood Warnings are likely to be issued this morning.

The Environment Agency updates its flood guidance every 15 minutes on its website at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/31618.aspx, and you can follow the Environment Agency on Twitter at @EnvAgency

Met Office weather forecasts and warnings can be found at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ and you can follow the Met Office on Twitter at @metoffice and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/metoffice

THE Environment Agency is urging communities in the North and East of England, the Midlands and much of Wales to be prepared for flooding, as two bands of very heavy rain cross the country today (Friday) and into tomorrow.

The risk of flooding over the next few days is expected to be the highest of the year so far, with properties and transport in some parts of the country likely to be severely affected.

This very heavy rainfall is likely to lead to flooding from rivers and surface water – caused when rain overwhelms drainage systems. The most severe impacts are expected late Friday and into Saturday morning across Yorkshire and the North East of England, the Midlands and East Anglia.

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 are working around the clock to reduce the risk of flooding in the coming days.

Craig Woolhouse, Head of Flood Incident Management at the Environment Agency, said: “We are expecting some very significant flooding in the coming days across large parts of the country, and would strongly urge people to sign up to flood warnings, keep a close eye on the forecasts for their area and be prepared for flooding. We would also ask that people stay safe, by keeping out of dangerous flood water and not attempting to walk or drive through it.

“The Environment Agency has already opened incident rooms and has teams out on the ground checking on flood defences and clearing any blockages in order to reduce the risk of flooding as much as possible.”

Tony Waters, Deputy Chief Forecaster at the Met Office, said: “We are expecting spells of very heavy and thundery rain across a wide area of the UK in the next few days, with worst affected spots likely to be in central and northern parts of the country.

“Rainfall totals could be 20-40 mm widely across warning areas, but some places could see around 100 mm of rain through Friday and into Saturday. Given the saturated ground from the record rainfall in June, this could cause significant disruption – including difficult driving conditions and flooding in some areas.”

It is expected that a large number of alerts and warnings will be issued in the next two days, so the Environment Agency is urging the public to remain vigilant and check its website and Twitter feed for the latest updates. It also advised the public to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through floodwater.

Flood warnings can be found at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk and you can follow the Environment Agency on Twitter at @EnvAgency. Flood warnings are also now available on Facebook through the dedicated ‘FloodAlerts’ page.