Environment Agency warns flood-hit communities to remain vigilant as more rain expected

The Environment Agency (EA) is warning communities in Lincolnshire to remain vigilant as more heavy rain is expected on Thursday and Friday in areas already affected by flooding.
Latest news on the floodsLatest news on the floods
Latest news on the floods

The EA says it is working hard to support local communities by putting up temporary barriers and taking sandbags to areas across Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire, aided by the military.

Although river levels have fallen over the past few days, prolonged rain on Thursday, Friday and over the weekend could bring further river and surface water flooding to areas of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, and the Midlands where the ground is already saturated.

Three hundred EA staff are working 24/7 around the country deploying 39 pumps across five locations.

Since the flooding began last Thursday, approximately 14,400 properties have been protected by flood defences, including nearly 5,000 properties in South Yorkshire alone. Flood storage areas are also being operated to protect 7,000 homes in parts of Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

Across the country, 34 Flood Warnings – meaning flooding is expected – and 75 Flood Alerts – meaning flooding is possible – remain live.

Kate Marks, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Heavy rain is expected on Thursday, Friday and over the weekend which could lead to further flooding for communities in South Yorkshire around the Lower River Don. Parts of Lincolnshire and the Midlands could also be affected by rain falling on already saturated ground over Thursday and Friday, as well as other parts of England as rain crosses the country from west to east.

“It’s really important that impacted communities remain vigilant and take steps to prepare for flooding by checking their flood risk regularly and making plans to stay safe.

“The Environment Agency has teams working around the clock on the ground erecting temporary barriers and delivering sandbags to areas expecting further rainfall.

“Our incident rooms remain open 24 hours a day and we are continuing to work closely with local authorities and partners.

“We advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to walk or drive through flood water - as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.”

Norman Robinson, Environment Agency Area Director (Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire) added: “We are continuing to monitor storage reservoirs closely and discharging water to create capacity ahead of the forecast rainfall on Thursday. This includes the Lincoln Washlands and the Louth and Horncastle flood storage reservoirs.

“We are also discharging main rivers at tidal outfalls to bring down river levels to create more capacity.

“We are working with our partners, such as the Internal Drainage Boards and NFU, to manage the impact to agriculture land and livestock farms.

“Finally, our teams are on the ground assessing urgent repairs to damaged or over-topping defences across the Lincolnshire as well as understanding the longer term options for recovery from the flooding.”

The public can check their flood risk online at www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk and keep up to date with the latest situation.

Alternatively, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or follow @EnvAgency on Twitter.