Large parts of England should be on alert for potential flooding, both today, into the weekend and early next week, the Environment Agency has warned.
As of midday on 29 October there are 12 flood warnings, meaning that flooding is expected, and 39 flood alerts, meaning that flooding remains likely.
These are spread across parts of the north, southwest and southern England.
For the latest information, the public should sign up to flood warnings and check the latest safety advice.
In the past few days 40 properties have been flooded in Cumbria, however, 1,450 properties have been protected across the county, in part down to some of the new flood defences installed in areas such as Cockermouth.
Environment Agency officers are taking action in areas where very poor weather conditions are expected – shutting flood gates and clearing debris from grilles to ensure watercourses are free of blockages.
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Teams of frontline staff remain ready to operate flood storage areas and other defences, deploy temporary barriers and pumps where needed to help protect communities.
Ben Lukey, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Flooding is devastating so whilst we are pleased 1,450 properties have been protected, our thoughts are with the 40 households who have suffered.
“The public need to stay on alert this weekend and into early next week as surface water and river flooding could still bring disruption in the southwest as well as part of northern England.
“Environment Agency teams have been out on the ground clearing grilles and screens where flood debris can build up and impede river flows, and stand ready to operate flood defences if needed.
“Working with our partners in local resilience forums, we are supporting emergency response to keep people safe where flooding does occur.
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“We are urging residents and visitors, especially holidaymakers in the Lake District and elsewhere, to stay alert and check their flood risk by signing up for free flood warnings on the Gov.uk website and via @EnvAgency on Twitter, which offer the latest updates.”
The Environment Agency is prepared to take action this winter wherever it is needed, with 250 high volume pumps available and 6,000 trained staff across the country.
We use our flood warning system to directly alert over 1.4 million properties when flooding is expected.
Evacuating people from their homes is a multi-agency decision where all risks are considered and at present there are no plans to evacuate any communities.
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