Wel-I-Hole Road, Greenfield (Photo: Stuart Coleman©2012)

North West communities experience severe weather and flooding

The Environment Agency is warning residents across the North West of England to take action as the risk of flooding increases over the next 24 hours.

The North West is experiencing travel disruption including flooded railway lines and roads as well as flooding of properties and communities in West Lancashire. Strong winds will increase the risk of flooding as wind-blown debris has the potential to block rivers and drains.

A spokesperson for the agency said, “Our teams have taken action across the North West to check on flood defences, clear river blockages and closely monitor river levels. We have teams working in Warrington, St Helens, Ormskirk, Crossens, Carlisle and Altcar to ensure culverts are free of debris and operating flood defences. They will continue to work throughout the night, working with our incident rooms who are monitoring river levels and providing advice to communities.”

Up to 100mm of rain is expected across the North West region in the next 24 hours mainly in North East Manchester and East Lancashire although other areas will be affected. At 21:00 we have issued 15 flood warnings (meaning that flooding is expected) and 36 flood alerts (meaning that flooding is possible) across the North West for river and surface water flooding.

It is likely that more flood warnings will be issued. The public are urged to check the Environment Agency website for the latest information: www.environment-agency.gov.uk/flood.

Anyone concerned about potential flooding should sign up for free flood warnings on the Environment Agency’s website, call the Environment Agency’s Flood Line on 0845 988 1188 and follow us on twitter @EnvAgencyNW.

Steve Moore, Regional Director for the North West Environment Agency said, “We are expecting persistent and heavy rainfall to continue overnight and throughout Tuesday. We strongly urge people to sign up to flood warnings, check our website, follow us on twitter @EnvAgencyNW and keep a close eye on local weather forecasts to be prepared for the possibility of flooding. We also ask that people stay away from rivers and do not attempt to drive or walk through floodwater.

“We’ve got teams out on the ground checking flood defences and clearing any blockages to reduce the risk of flooding as much as possible.”

For the latest information:

The latest flood warnings, updated every 15 minutes, can be found at: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/31618.aspx

The latest three day flood forecast can be found at: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/3days/125305.aspx

Social media updates are available from the Environment Agency’s regional Twitter account, https://twitter.com/EnvAgencyNW and Facebook Page, http://www.facebook.com/environmentagency.

People can also sign up to flood alerts via the FloodAlerts Facebook App: http://www.facebook.com/FloodAlerts

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