Severe flood warnings removed but river levels remain high

Severe flood warnings for the breach at Croston have been downgraded due to successful repair work and an improving picture.

The River Severn will remain high in places, bringing a low risk of flooding in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire over the coming days. Temporary defences have been deployed to the area.

The Met Office is forecasting further rainfall through the weekend, particularly across the south and west of England and Northumberland.

As of 13.30 on 1 January there are 15 flood warnings and 70 flood alerts in place across England. Flood warnings are updated on the Environment Agency website every 15 minutes.

York’s Foss Barrier is now operational following emergency work and flood waters in the city have receded, although the community should remain vigilant as the River Ouse will remain high over the coming days.

The country has faced an extraordinary period of severe weather and flooding since the start of December. Cumbria has faced the wettest December on record. Across the north of England over the past week more than 7,300 homes have flooded as river levels reached all time highs.

Environment Agency teams remain out in force pumping away flood water, repairing damaged defences, clearing river blockages, monitoring water levels and sending out flood warnings. Environment Agency staff from across the country have been sent to provide support in affected areas.

Over 40 additional Environment Agency pumps have been dispatched to the north of England to ensure that flood water is pumped away as fast as river levels will allow.

Craig Woolhouse, Director of Incident Management at the Environment Agency, said:

“Our thoughts go out to those communities dealing with flooding. Thankfully it is now an improving weather picture across most of the country.

“We will continue to work closely with local authorities in the coming weeks to support their recovery efforts and still have teams working around the clock to protect communities and pump away flood water.

“Communities affected by flooding can find advice on the Environment Agency website, local authorities‘ websites and on social media using #floodaware.”