More storms forecast to hit eastern counties on 20 July 2014
People are urged to stay tuned to weather and flood risk forecasts on 20 July as bands of heavy rain spread across eastern counties of England.
There is a risk of localised surface water flooding and a possibility of flash flooding from small and urban rivers in some of these locations.
Environment Agency teams have been out over the weekend working to minimise river flood risk, clearing debris from streams and unblocking culverts as thunderstorms continue to sweep up from the south across many parts of the UK.
As of 12noon, Sunday 20 July, there are 29 flood alerts in place across the Midlands, South east, South west and North east. Flood alerts mean flooding is possible, while flood warnings mean flooding is expected.
John Curtin, Director of Incident Management and Resilience at the Environment Agency, said:
As we’ve seen over the past two days, flooding can happen very quickly so we urge people to continue to check local weather forecasts and the Environment Agency website for flood risk information on a regular basis.
We saw rainfall totals of 60mm in some places yesterday, including in Bradford-upon-Avon and at Westonbirt, near Chippenham, and with further heavy rainfall forecast today we want people to remain vigilant. We also recorded 32.6mm in an hour at the Draycott rain gauge near Derby yesterday afternoon.
We will continue monitoring the situation closely and supporting local authorities, who will respond to any reports of surface water flooding.
Surface water flooding can happen very quickly depending on where thunderstorms occur, the amount and intensity of the rainfall and the local drainage network. It is possible that roads may quickly become impassable and people are urged not to drive through flood water.
People can sign up to receive free flood warnings for rivers, check their flood risk and keep up to date with the latest situation, including a 3-day flood risk forecast at https://www.gov.uk/check-if-youre-at-risk-of-flooding or via #floodaware on Twitter and Facebook.