Flood warnings issued for parts of UK with high winds expected

The Environment Agency has raised many alerts, particularly for the South and West of Britain

16:26 21 November 2012

Certain areas of the UK are on flood watch as the Environment Agency is warning of heavy rainfall yet to come. This comes following the many flood warnings that have been issued already, as southern and western Britain have been hit hard.

 

The Met Office is expecting inches of rain to fall in parts of the UK on Thursday. In particular, they are warning that the South and West could suffer from the bad weather in the coming days. Reportedly Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset are among the areas that are at risk.

 

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We are looking at 15 to 30mm (0.6 to 1.2 inches) quite widely across that area and up to 40mm (1.6 inches) in the worst-hit areas.”

 

They added: “There's pretty saturated ground following the rain around today, so there's the possibility of seeing some localised flooding.”

 

The wet weather has brought problems for motorists too, with there being concern for drivers’ safety on Wednesday morning following heavy rainfall. It is thought that a number of vehicles were abandoned in certain areas because of flooding.

 

And some police officers have even taken to the social network site Twitter to urge drivers to take care on the roads due to flooded conditions.

 

The Environment Agency has said that teams have been issued to check flood defences, water levels, as well as any river blockages.

 

There are also growing concerns that Thursday could bring high winds, with speeds being expected between 60 and 70mph at certain times.

 

It is understood that many people have already been forced out of their homes because of the UK’s wet weather, as weeks earlier the recent flooding destroyed many homes.