Flood defences hold – but more rain on the way
Midlands ravaged by aftermath of storm
DEFENCES in a flood-threatened Worcestershire town were holding up on Wednesday – but more rain is on the way.
In Bewdley, which straddles the River Severn, the barriers that protect businesses and homes on either bank were enough to keep the water at bay as the Post went to press.
The river had been expected to peak of about 5.2 metres, well above normal levels and there were fears the defences could have been breached.
The Environment Agency was keeping a close eye on the defences there and in other places along the Severn, including Ironbridge upstream and Upton-upon-Severn downstream.
The barriers in Bewdley have been doing their job, despite a “remarkable” amount of water still working its way down the river channel.
A steady stream of curious onlookers have been drawn to the historic town’s main bridge – currently closed – to see how close the water has come to topping the barriers.
Residents are carrying on as normal despite the water rushing past a few yards away, with businesses open as normal. The closure of the main road has seen community members setting up a free bus route, with a vintage double-decker taking people from one side of the town.
The water is at its highest level in the town for 20 years, according to the Environment Agency, which is preparing for more rain.
Dave Throup, Environment Agency manager for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, said: “As it stands, our defences are all holding up. There’s huge amount of water against them so we’re monitoring that very closely at the moment. But at the moment things are OK at Bewdley.”
Attention is starting to turn to the situation down-river, where levels in Worcester, which had dropped back in the last two days, are expected to rise again.
Mr Throup said: “Further down towards Upton-upon-Severn, we still have severe flood warnings in place there and that’s because we do expect levels to rise again slightly and they are already exceptionally high.
“So we will be monitoring that again very closely with staff at Upton.”
As time goes on the water will feed down into Gloucestershire, where “some big levels” are expected later.
“The only saving factor there is there’s not much water coming down the River Avon,” Mr Throup said. “So that may allow things to spread out a little bit.
“Unfortunately it’s not out of the woods, even then, because we’re looking at rainfall right through the weekend, which potentially could affect the tops of the catchments, which is just not where we want to be at all.
“But we will be prepared, so we’re working with our forecasters on that for scenarios going through the weekend.”
About 1,400 homes and businesses across England and Wales have been affected by the floods in the wake of downpours brought by Storm Dennis. But the Met Office issued three new yellow weather warnings for rain for Wales and Yorkshire, beginning on Wednesday.
Around the UK, more than 150 flood warnings remain in place, including six severe – or “danger to life” – warnings.
The Environment Agency said the levels of the Wye and Severn would remain high into the weekend.
John Curtin, from the agency, said: “We expect further disruptive weather, bringing a significant flood risk to the West Midlands, and there are flood warnings in place across much of England.”
People in flood-hit households can apply for financial hardship payments of up to £500 for short-term relief, the government announced on Tuesday.
The government support fund also includes up to £5,000 for affected residents and business owners to help make their properties more resilient to future floods.
Meanwhile, the River Trent, which had prompted a severe flood warning for Burton-on-Trent, also peaked at record levels of just below four metres on Tuesday. Tamworth, on the River Tame, has also been affected.
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