People should 'be ready' for winter flooding after record-breaking rainfall in East

The UK is not "locked into" the risk of flooding this winter, says the government - but people should be prepared, one year on from Storm Babet.

This week marks the anniversary of the storm which brought significant floods, record rainfall and forced people out of their homes.

After a year of wetter weather, including recent flooding in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, flooding alliances in the East of England are urging people to stay prepared for every eventuality.

England endured its wettest 18 months on record up to March 2024 and last month Bedfordshire had its wettest month ever.

Dr Will Lang, from the Met Office, said: “Despite the recent wet weather, especially across England, we are not yet locked into a winter of elevated flood risk.

“There is still time over the coming weeks for rivers and ground conditions in England to return to normal levels, should we see the drier conditions dominate here over the coming weeks and last into late autumn."

But he added that “everything was still on the table”, and warned that even if the country ended up with a normal winter, some flooding was to be expected.

In Norfolk, the Strategic Flooding Alliance is encouraging people to be prepared and partnership manager Fiona Johnson said: "We've had groundwater levels really high all year and they're still really high.

"We're just asking people to be ready. We only need a little bit of water, a bit of rain, this winter and we will be having those same challenges and problems again so please be ready."

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service is also urging people to be prepared in case their properties flood, with deputy chief fire officer Scott Norman saying: "Our crews are ready to deal with these incidents, they train significantly for these sorts of events.

"Our messaging is quite clear, if life is in danger, phone 999 and if there is flooding in the home please isolate your gas and electricity and don't touch any appliances."

There are concerns climate change will see similar wet weather and floods become a more frequent occurrence.

Caroline Douglass, from the Environment Agency, 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 predict 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.”

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