Head Office Press Office
- 27-Jul-2007 - The Environment Agency is
still on full alert following the Met Office
severe weather warning for the weekend and
is urging people to continue checking their
flood watch status.
The Met Office has forecast a period of persistent
rain for South Wales late on Saturday 28th
July, spreading eastwards across central and
southern parts of England during Sunday morning
29th July. The rain will be locally heavy
with up to 30mm in places, but hills exposed
to the southwest could see 40mm of rain. The
rain is expected to last for 6-9 hours at
any one location before clearing away eastwards.
"The Met Office will continue to work
to refine the detail of the weather including
both its intensity and location, so though
people should not be unnecessarily alarmed
they should remain vigilant. However, with
rivers high and land currently saturated there
is the risk that any further heavy rainfall
will run off the ground and go straight into
the rivers. As a result, we could see the
levels in watercourses responding very quickly,
so we urge people to be aware and prepared
as the unsettled period of weather is set
to continue. There is also the possibility
of flash flooding caused by surface water,"
Director of Operations, Paul Leinster said.
"Our national incident response is still
operating and will continue to do so and we
are continuing our normal preparations for
possible flooding, and urge the public to
do the same by checking any flood warnings
through our website or Floodline, and through
the media."
The Environment Agency is carrying out the
following preparatory work :
Clearing grills screens and blockages where
it is safe to do so water can flow
Lowering water levels behind weirs and other
water level structures where it is safe and
possible
Checking sand bag and pump availability and
performance along with other equipment
Checking and maintaining river and rain gauges
Checking weather radar links and continuing
to liaise with the Met Office
Checking our river computer models to gauge
the likely impact of rain
Ensuring we have staff rostered to man national
and regional incident rooms, provide flood
warnings and provide field response as required
Continuing active liaison and coordination
with our partners in emergency services and
local government.
To find out if you are at risk from flooding
please call Floodline 0845 988 1188 or visit
www.environment-agency.gov.uk/floodline.
