People in the North East and Teesside urged to prepare for floods
The Environment Agency says it's after the wettest 18 months on record
People in the North East and Teesside are being urged to prepare for floods after the wettest 18 months on record.
This year’s awareness campaign by the Environment Agency coincides with the one-year anniversary of Storm Babet, which brought significant flooding across the country.
According to the Met Office, Storm Babet saw the third wettest three-day period in a series for England and Wales since 1891.
Across England, nearly 96,900 properties were protected by the Environment Agency during Storm Babet, though sadly around 2,150 were flooded.
Across the North East, the EA say they operate a range of flood defences and many of these had a significant test during Storm Babet, protecting people and properties. In Morpeth, the storm provided the biggest test for the flood defences since they were opened in 2015, reducing the risk to around 1000 properties. In Rothbury, our staff closed the flood gates and cleared debris screens in anticipation of the predicted increased rainfall.
The EA says as climate change brings more extreme weather, there has already been flooding this autumn. Only last month, much of England experienced heavy rainfall leading to the first major incident of the season with almost a thousand properties flooded. It followed the wettest 18 months on record in England up to February 2024.
This campaign is all about showing people that they can easily take a few steps to reduce the devastation caused by floods to their homes and businesses, with around 5.5 million properties in England at risk from flooding. Recent data suggests that nearly half the country is unsure of how to find information on local flood risks, making this campaign all the more important.
The best way to protect yourself from flooding is early preparation and knowing what to do in advance.
Some of the actions people can take to reduce the dangers are:
• Check your long-term flood risk. You can use this free service to find out the long-term flood risk for an area in England, the possible causes of flooding, and how to manage flood risk.
• Sign up for flood warnings by phone, text or email
• Taking steps to protect yourself from future flooding – including storing important documents in a secure, waterproof location, taking rugs and small furniture upstairs, checking how to turn off your electricity and water, preparing a flood kit.
The Environment Agency and its partners are continuing to help communities become more resilient to extreme weather and rising sea levels, but authorities can never stop all flood impacts.
Simon Wilson, Environment Agency Flood Risk Manager for the North East, said:
“Climate change means extreme weather events are happening more frequently, and we have already seen an unusually wet September this year.
“We can’t always be certain where the rain will fall or where flooding will occur, but we do know which areas are at risk.
“That is why it is essential we all do our part by checking our flood risk and signing up for flood warnings this Flood Action Week. While we at the Environment Agency are stepping up our preparations to increase the nation's resilience to flooding as we head into the winter, taking small steps today can immediately improve your own readiness.”
Following the flooding caused by Storms Ciara and Dennis in 2020, it was estimated that the average insurance claim per household was £32,000.
The EA says the impacts of flooding to mental health can be equally as harmful as the physical damage and disruption. People whose homes have been damaged by extreme weather are more likely to have poor mental health than the rest of the population.
Floods Minister Emma Hardy said:
“Flooding can be a destructive force that puts everything in life on hold. I’ve seen the impacts firsthand and am determined to ensure as much as possible others do not.
“Through the recent launch of our Floods Resilience Taskforce, this government is taking decisive action to accelerate the development of flood defences and bolster the nation’s resilience to extreme weather.
“But this Flood Action Week, we must be all be proactive in taking steps to protect ourselves by checking our flood risk and signing up for flood warnings.”
Last winter, Storm Babet was followed in quick succession by Storms Ciaran and Henk, which each led to more significant flooding, though flood defences operated well overall. While around 5,000 properties were sadly flooded, around 250,000 properties were protected thanks to the investments the Environment Agency has made in flood and coastal defences.
In the North East, the Environment Agency have completed work at Spring Gardens dam, construction of the Yarm Flood Alleviation Scheme is ongoing, and the Weardale Natural Flood Management Project is now complete. This £2.1 million project has seen 25 features constructed in the stunning Upper Weardale landscape, helping reduce flood risk.
In the year since Storm Babet, the Environment Agency say they have undertaken a thorough assessment of the condition of flood defense assets across the country to ensure they are up to the required standard.
It has conducted over 200,000 checks on the state of assets in the past year – up from 150,000 in an average year – and increased our spend on asset maintenance and repair to £236 million, up from £200 million.
Pumps have been pre-emptively deployed at seven strategic depots in vulnerable regions around the country to ensure they can be rolled out rapidly as and when required.
The public are also urged to explore the longer-term Property Flood Resilience (PFR) measures they can adopt to protect their own homes. The Environment Agency estimates nine out of 10 properties fitted with PFR in England saw the measures delivered via its flood and coastal risk management investment programme, ensuring better protection.
Flood Re is a joint initiative between the Government and insurers aiming to make the flood cover part of household insurance policies more affordable. Its Build Back Better initiative enables householders to install property flood resilience measures up to the value of £10,000 when repairing their properties after a flood.
During a flood, it is especially important that drivers take particular care on roads, stay away from swollen rivers and do not drive through flood water, just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.
Flood alleviation work set to protect properties in Loftus
Flood protection measures for properties in Loftus, affected by flooding from Loftus Beck, have been approved as part of the ‘Loftus Property Flood Resilience Project’.
The project, a partnership between residents, the Environment Agency (EA) and Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, is focussed on 22 properties to the east of Loftus around East Crescent, St Hilda’s Place and Arlington Street.
During heavy rainfall water levels in Loftus Beck can rise rapidly with the river occasionally spilling over and making the surface water flooding along Arlington Street and St Hilda’s Place a lot worse. Surface water and flood water from the beck then try re-joining Loftus Beck down Dam Street.
Properties affected include three on Arlington Street, six on St. Hilda's Place and 12 on East Crescent and the Arlington Hotel. Funding for the project has been provided by the Environment Agency levy funding to the value of £362,000.
Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Cllr Carl Quartermain, said:
“Flash flooding in parts of Loftus is an ongoing challenge and these flood mitigation measures will help protect vulnerable properties in the town against the impact of potential flooding in the future.
“This is a real step in the right direction for those residents in Loftus impacted by flooding. Everything has been approved including planning approval for the works to go ahead and the contractor is currently in the process of manufacturing the bespoke doors and gates and we are hopeful that they will be installed prior to Christmas.
“I would like to extend my sincere thanks to RCBC officers, the Environment Agency and residents for their collaborative effort to see this project through. Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge Northumbrian Water, our dedicated Ward Councillors, and Luke Myer MP for all their positive support and coordinated efforts in recent months with all the flooding events here and across East Cleveland. Together, we are working hard to ensure that our community is better protected and more resilient against future flood events."
Luke Myer MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said:
"The installation of Loftus flood doors is now approved and marks a significant step forward in our commitment to flood alleviation in East Cleveland. This specialist work is proceeding smoothly, with all residents affected, fully informed and reassured about the timeline. In addressing these historic flooding issues, I have been encouraged by the collaborative work between Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, the Environment Agency, Northumbrian Water, local ward councillors and residents which remains crucial to overcoming long-standing flooding challenges. I will continue to ensure issues felt on the ground are progressed by our officials through regular meetings, site meetings and a committed approach."
Watertight International Ltd will be manufacturing and installing various flood alleviation measures including flood doors and barriers, flood air bricks, one way non return valves to private drainage networks as well as minor buildings works including pointing up and sealing brick and blockwork to make homes as flood reliant as possible. There will also be puddle pumps provided to high-risk residents to allow them to pump water away from their property.
The Council have provided sandbags to all affected areas in Loftus following recent flooding events and left sandbags on site for residents to collect. Drainage improvement works to the sewer network have also progressed with Northumbrian Water Ltd (NWL) to prevent properties flooding from the combined sewer network in the town. The EA have also made improvements to the early warning system for Loftus Beck.