‘Huge’ amount of flooding across parts of England, says minister

A “huge” amount of flooding has been seen across parts of England, the floods minister has said, as temperatures look set to plummet at the weekend.

Hundreds of flood warnings and alerts remained in place on Friday after more than 1,000 properties across England were flooded this week, with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issuing a cold weather alert from Saturday.

It said areas of the South West on the River Avon would also be affected, adding that impacts are likely across much of England over the next five days because the ground is “completely saturated”.

Speaking to the media on the banks of the Trent in Nottingham on Friday afternoon, floods minister Robbie Moore said the Government had “absolutely” provided enough money for flood prevention.

The Keighley MP said: “In those hard-hit areas we’ve experienced a huge amount of flooding, a huge amount of rain, not only here in Nottinghamshire but down in the Severn Valley in Gloucestershire, as well.”

Asked if there would be compensation for people affected by the flooding, Mr Moore said the Government was “absolutely looking at what measures we can put in place”.

He added that the amount of funding for flood resilience plans had been doubled “from £2.6 billion to £5.2 billion”.

Data from the Environment Agency shows almost every river in England to be exceptionally high with some rivers reaching their highest flow on record, such as the River Itchen in Southampton which saw a flow double its previous record in December.

Caroline Douglass, the agency’s flood director, said the Trent has been at “some of the highest levels we’ve seen in 24 years”.

She added: “Over November and December, following Storm Babet and Storm Ciaran, the ground was incredibly saturated right across the country, particularly in the east.

“But also that’s just been topped up over the pre-Christmas period. That rainfall from this week has just added to that, so there’s really nowhere for the water to go.

“The ground is completely saturated so in that situation we get more flooding and greater impacts than we’ve seen and probably in areas where people aren’t used to.”

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said the East Midlands was “feeling the effects” of climate change, and that greater flood resilience is needed across the country.

Alex McDonald, speaking near the River Trent in Nottingham, told the PA news agency: “We’re seeing a large number of big events, and this winter has been particularly bad since October onwards.

“We are feeling the effects of climate change in the East Midlands, and as a nation we need to be more resilient to flooding.”

It comes as the UKHSA issued a yellow cold weather alert from 9am on Saturday until 12pm on January 12.

It said temperatures will drop to minus 4C in parts of rural south-west England on Saturday night and minus 6C in rural areas along the Welsh border in Shropshire and north Herefordshire on Sunday night.

The UKHSA said: “A brisk easterly wind developing across the south over the weekend will make it feel much colder, with the added wind chill.

“Temperatures are likely to be a few degrees below average, across much of the UK, especially overnight, with more widespread frosts than of late.

“Ice is likely to be an issue for many given the very wet ground in most areas. It is probable this cold spell may last well into the following week.”

Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said conditions were “turning considerably drier”, adding that the weather service had no rain warnings issued “for the first time in quite a while”.

Mr Claydon told the PA news agency: “We’re heading to a more settled spell of weather, which will be very welcome for many people across the UK after what’s been a very wet start to 2024.”

South Western Railway services were disrupted on Friday across its entire network, with major issues on its west of England routes.

The operator said: “Whilst we expect water levels to drop and most of the network to reopen today, we will not be able to operate services between Yeovil Junction and Exeter because of a landslip near Crewkerne.”

Great Western Railway also warned of “significant disruption” to its services.

“Customers are advised to travel as early as possible or consider delaying their journey.

“A serious incident near Reading last night, where police closed the railway for several hours, has left trains and crew in the wrong place for the start of service, which alongside localised flooding, continues to hamper our ability to run trains.”

It comes after disruption caused by strong winds and rain from Storm Henk earlier in the week, which left the ground saturated and more prone to flooding.

Nottinghamshire County Council declared a major incident on Thursday due to rising levels along the River Trent and several residents of Radcliffe Residential Park, an estate of static caravans for the over-55s just to the east of the city, were evacuated.

Parts of southern England including Gloucestershire were submerged – with some riverside areas of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire also underwater on Friday.

In east London, around 50 people were led to safety by firefighters overnight after a canal burst its banks in Hackney Wick, causing flooding in an area of around 10 acres.

She told the PA news agency: “I got a call shortly after 10pm last night from a neighbour telling me that our studio building was flooding.

“By the time I arrived, the emergency services had cordoned off the area but we were able to wade in and salvage what we could.

“The water was knee-high in front of the building, and at least five or six inches in the corridors.”

Rishi Sunak insisted that people should be “reassured” by the response to flooding, as opposition parties accused ministers of failing to take the danger seriously with the Prime Minister urged to visit affected areas.

Labour accused the Government of being “asleep at the wheel” over flood warnings and said Mr Sunak should convene a “Cobra-style taskforce” to protect homes from further damage.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer vowed to make flood defences “fit for purpose”, writing on social media that “people’s lives shouldn’t be upended by extreme rain”.

The party’s spokeswoman for housing and communities, Helen Morgan, said: “The Prime Minister should see for himself the devastation caused by these floods.”