Month’s worth of rain expected to fall in one day across England and Wales
Environment news – by GreenWise Staff
6th July 2012
The Environment Agency has issued a severe flood warning for parts of England and Wales today, as forecasters predict one month’s worth of rain is set to fall in one day.
Two bands of heavy and thundery rain are set to sweep across the North and East of England, the Midlands and much of Wales Friday and Saturday. Properties and transport are likely to be “severely affected” the Environment Agency said, as the Met Office warned the risk of flooding over the next two days is expected to be the highest of the year so far.
“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,” Tony Waters, deputy chief forecaster at the Met Office, said.
Worst affected areas
“We […] 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,” Craig Woolhouse, head of Flood Incident Management at the Environment Agency, said. “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 said it had teams working around the clock to reduce the risk of flooding by checking on flood defences, clearing river blockages and monitoring river levels.
Businesses and members of the public can sign up for flood warnings to receive direct to their landline, mobile, via text message or email for free. They can also call the Environment Agency on 0845 988 1188.
“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,” Tony Waters, deputy chief forecaster at the Met Office, said.
Worst affected areas
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.
“We […] 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,” Craig Woolhouse, head of Flood Incident Management at the Environment Agency, said. “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 said it had teams working around the clock to reduce the risk of flooding by checking on flood defences, clearing river blockages and monitoring river levels.
Businesses and members of the public can sign up for flood warnings to receive direct to their landline, mobile, via text message or email for free. They can also call the Environment Agency on 0845 988 1188.
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