Fresh floods will leave land soaking for weeks
Farmers sound alarm over swathes of saturated land as experts warn some areas will not dry out for months
Fresh flood warnings have been issued for already saturated land amid fears that it will not drain for weeks. The Met Office put out yellow weather warnings of rain and snow in Scotland, Northern Ireland and across England for today. The aftermath of storms Ciara and Dennis has led to cars, roads and fields being submerged. Every county in Britain has been affected by the downpours. Farmers said that the damage could last for years in some areas.
FRESH flood warnings have been issued for already saturated land, amid fears that it will not drain for weeks.
The Met Office put out its latest yellow weather warnings of rain and snow in Scotland, Northern Ireland and across England for today.
The aftermath of storms Ciara and Dennis has led to cars, roads and fields being submerged, with every county in Britain affected by the downpours. “Snow is just going to mean yet more water,” said Stuart Roberts, the vicepresident of the National Farmers’ Union. “For farmers, caring for the livestock is going to prove a challenge in itself, but as the snow melts, it’s going to be melting into ground that is already saturated.
“I’ve never seen anything like this flooding in my life... for some people, the damage will last for years.”
The Met Office issued its warnings as it emerged that the Environment Agency (EA) is to rewrite its flood defence funding strategy to distribute further cash to flood-hit areas of northern England. For years, it has been accused of pouring funds mainly into the richest regions in the South at the expense of poorer, more flood-prone areas further north thanks to its policy of prioritising more valuable property.
The Met Office’s weather warnings for today are for snow across Scotland from 3am to 10pm; snow and rain across the North from 2am to 3pm and rain and snow across Northern Ireland between midnight and midday.
Yesterday morning, a band of heavy rain moved into south-west England and Wales, prompting a yellow weather warning for the already-drenched valleys of South Wales. Forecasters warned flood-hit communities to brace themselves for further bad weather with heavy rain, high winds and snow predicted for today. Marco Petagna, a
Met Office forecaster, said: “We hold on to unsettled weather conditions across the UK over the next few days. We will see spells of wet and windy weather at times and some snow in the north too. Monday looks unsettled across all areas. We’ll see wet and windy weather sweeping from the south-west – gales or severe gale-force winds in place, and some snow towards the north.”
An EA spokesman said the expected rain meant that “flood risk continues with the impacts of stormy weather continuing to be felt across England. This could lead to further flooding, particularly for rivers draining the Pennines, and for parts of the Midlands and the city of York where this rain will fall on saturated catchments.” Yesterday, the EA confirmed that some 80 flood warnings remained in place – from Dorset to Carlisle – as well as more than 170 less severe flood alerts across England. In Wales, the number of flood warnings in force increased to 14 yesterday, with 28 alerts.
The impending onset of slow, sleet and rain has prompted fears among homeowners and farmers living and working on already sodden land that they will be further swamped, leaving roads and land submerged, possibly for weeks or even months. The Met Office said that “a brief spell of freezing rain is possible as snow begins to turn to rain, leading to icy stretches. Meanwhile, given saturated ground and recent flooding, the combination of snow melt and rain may also bring about some disruption”.
The latest forecast came as George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, defended Boris Johnson after he defied calls to visit flood-stricken areas.
He told Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky: “It’s not a one-man show, it’s right that on certain operational things such as this the Prime Minister will ask one of his Cabinet members to lead, I can’t see anything wrong with that.” n Meanwhile, British holidaymakers were last night stranded at airports in the Canary Islands after a Saharan sandstorm. Flights from Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, North and South Tenerife Airports were grounded due to the weather conditions.