South Yorkshire prepares for flooding as Storm Christoph hits
A major incident has been declared, county-wide, in preparation
Last updated 19th Jan 2021
Storm Christoph is due to batter the UK for the next couple of days, with as much as 100mm of rain in some places.
South Yorkshire is being told to brace for flooding - with a major incident declared across the county.
Ben Bason is our South Yorkshire reporter working for Hallam FM and Greatest Hits Radio, he's been to see what preparations are being made in Fishlake:
Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones announced the move last night, with Doncaster Council already handing sandbags out to local residents. The borough was badly hit back in November 2019, with hundreds of homes and businesses underwater.
The Environment Agency has already issued flood alerts for parts of Doncaster, Barnsley, Rotherham and Sheffield.
Offering advice on staying safe in these adverse conditions, Katherine Smith, flood duty manager at The Environment Agency, said: “We urge people to keep away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.”
Fishlake resident Pam Webb, whose home and business flooded back in 2019, is among the hundreds of people in Doncaster nervously watching the weather - many are only just recovering from the deluge, just over a year on.
Pam said: "To sum it up, and I think I speak on behalf of most of the residents in this village, we are anxious.
"We can but wait and see, and await a further update from the Environment Agency."
The government says repairs, and temporary winter repairs, to flood barriers in South Yorkshire were completed in November 2020 as part of a regional flood recovery programme, although a wider project is due to complete in March 2021.
Speaking about the defences, Pam said: "We can only go on what the professionals are telling us and they are saying that work thehy have done currently will hopefully prevent flooding happening again - but who knows? I think the real test will be once that rainfall does start.
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for rain in South Yorkshire and remains in place until Thursday.