New flood alerts for southern England

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/12/new-flood-alerts-southern-england

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The Environment Agency has warned people in southern England to expect more flooding over the coming days.

More than 1,700 homes and businesses have been flooded in England since the beginning of the Christmas period, with about 640 flooded since the new year, and the misery is likely to continue, the agency said.

"There is a continued risk of flooding in southern England, especially Dorset, south Wiltshire, Somerset and the Thames valley, and we urge people to remain vigilant and prepared to take action," said flood risk manager Katharine Evans.

"Environment Agency teams continue to work to work around the clock, maintaining flood defences, clearing watercourses and deploying pumps and temporary defences to protect communities at risk."

Eight people have died since the stormy weather began just before Christmas. Although the weather has calmed, even relatively small amounts of rain falling on to already saturated land can cause problems.

The agency said river levels along the Thames were stabilising or falling in most areas but groundwater levels remained high. River levels also remain high in parts of Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey, West Sussex, Wiltshire and along the river Severn in Worcester and Gloucestershire.

On Sunday afternoon there were 66 flood warnings – indicating expected flooding with immediate action required – in place, 42 of which were in the south-east. There were also more than 100 flood alerts, indicating a less severe threat, with most – 70 – again in the south-east.

The Environment Agency says 240,000 homes and businesses have been protected by flood defences. Met Office forecaster Helen Roberts said a front pushing in from the west was expected to bring more rain on Sunday night and although it was not expected be particularly heavy, it would be unhelpful for areas that already had problems.

She warned that the more potent threat is posed by rain expected on Tuesday and Wednesday, which is also not expected to be heavy but could cause problems because of its persistence.

"The rain is going to affect all parts of the UK but the places seeing problems are those which have already experienced problems, such as the south and south-east," she said. "It's going to be very unwelcome rain there and that's where it's going to be the most persistent."

Meanwhile, yellow weather warnings have already been issued for central Scotland, the Highlands, and the Grampians because of the prospect of snow overnighton Sunday evening and early on Monday.

That snow is expected to clear away north-eastwards early on Monday followed by clear skies which will allow temperatures to fall below freezing, creating icy stretches making driving hazardous. Roberts stressed that the snowfall and freezing temperatures were "not out of the ordinary" for this time of year.

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