Written by Rachel Martin
More than 150 flood alerts remain in place across England as Storm Ciara passes. In Cumbria, nearly three-quarters of February’s rain fell in just 24 hours.
The Environment Agency is reminding people to stay safe and remain vigilant as communities continue to experience the after-effects of severe weather from Storm Ciara and as further severe weather is forecast when Storm Dennis arrives next weekend.
We currently have five incident rooms in operation across England with community support officers on the ground helping residents affected by the storm.
Around 730 properties are believed to have been affected by flooding as a result of the severe weather with approximately 23,000 properties having been protected by flood defences across England.
As of 12.30pm on February 11, there are 57 flood warnings and 151 flood alerts in place across the country as more severe weather moves in from the west bringing coastal spray and potential for high river levels to some areas into the weekend.
Caroline Douglass, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Environment Agency teams are continuing to operate flood defences and have deployed pumps to help clear water and keep people safe. We are out on the ground supporting affected communities in the wake of Storm Ciara.
“Ongoing river flooding is possible along the River Ouse through the City of York today, while localised river flooding is also possible on other larger rivers such as the Severn today and Wednesday, following heavy rain from Storm Ciara over the weekend.
“We continue to check defences after the severe weather and operate them as needed to help keep people and properties safe.
“River and surface water flooding are possible on Saturday into Sunday due to Storm Dennis and we are advising people to check their flood risk and to stay safe on the coast or when walking or driving near swollen rivers.
“We also caution against taking ‘storm selfies’ as large waves can be extremely dangerous.”
Chief meteorologist at the Met Office Steve Ramsdale said: “Another spell of very wet and windy weather is expected for Saturday.
“Although Storm Dennis is currently not expected to be as severe as Ciara, disruption is still likely.
“With further warnings possible over the next few days people should keep up to date with the Met Office forecast using our website, app or by following us on social media.”
Readers can sign up to the Environment Agency’s flood warnings service and keep up to date with the latest safety advice, call Floodline on: 0345-988-1188.
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