Flood warning service welcomes Buckfastleigh
Buckfastleigh is the newest addition to the Environment Agency’s growing list of places that get flood warnings.
Buckfastleigh, seen here during flooding in 2012, has joined the flood warning network
Being able to receive warnings of flooding will give residents notice to prepare, act and survive should waters rise in the Devon town on the River Mardle or Dean Burn.
The new flood warning area covers 312 properties – of which 40% are at high risk of flooding.
Ben Johnstone of the Environment Agency said:
A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to add a new location to our flood warning network by installing sensors at the most appropriate locations and then monitoring them against incoming weather patterns.
But a flood warning network still needs people who are at flood risk to be resilient. Make a flood plan so when you get a flood warning, you know what to do.
Buckfastleigh has a history of bad flooding. Flooding in 1979 hit 74 properties. Then in 2012 there were two separate floods, water rising to 1.2m in places. A flood alleviation scheme was built in 1988. Then in 2016 improvements were made to raise walls by the River Mardle in two places. However, flood risk cannot be eliminated which is why the town joins the flood warning service.
Editor’s notes
Buckfastleigh joined the flood warning system on 7 December 2022.
The Dean Burn and River Mardle are also part of the Dartmoor Headwaters Pilot project involving tree planting, mire/peatland restoration, floodplain reconnect and flow attenuation measures. These watercourses will be a key part of the wider Headwaters natural flood management project moving forward.
The Environment Agency encourages people to take three simple steps to become flood resilient:
The Environment Agency flood warning service reaches almost 50,000 new properties at risk of flooding and hopes to exceed its target to provide new warning capability for 62,000 properties at risk of flooding by this winter. It brings the number of properties registered with the service to 1.6 million.
Flood warnings tell people about an imminent risk of flooding to their home or business and help people make informed decisions about how to respond. There are three types of warning – flood alert, flood warning and severe flood warning. Each warning type is triggered by weather, river or sea conditions which cause flooding.
Householders are encouraged to prepare if they receive a flood alert which could mean packing a bag that includes medicines, insurance documents and anything else they wouldn’t want to lose if flooding were to take place. A flood warning calls on people to act now which means turning off gas, water and electricity and moving family and pets to safety. A severe flood warning means you are in immediate danger and to follow advice from emergency services.