More rain due: flooded council declares major incident

Council chief executive Kerry Rickards said on Friday:

“Several Sedgemoor communities have been severely affected by the floodwaters for some weeks now.

“With significant rainfall expected over the coming days we feel this situation needs to be escalated as a major incident.”

Its announcement will not change its ongoing work to provide sandbags, portaloos and deliveries to the most vulnerable properties. Instead the council aims to gain the attention of central planners by underlining the seriousness of the situation it is facing.

As a rural area, Sedgemoor’s 46,000 properties are not numerous enough to meet the national criteria to trigger flood defence work. But, say council workers, all of its infrastructure is currently underwater. A lot of A-roads in the area have been closed by floodwater.

More heavy rain expected on Friday:

The Somerset Levels are particularly prone to flooding due to topography ,writes Channel 4 News Weather Presenter Liam Dutton. 

Bordered by the Quantock and Mendip hills, the vast expanse of low-lying river plain is traversed by a number of rivers flowing out into the Bristol Channel. As a result, in spells of prolonged wet weather, a combination of river and surface water flooding can leave large areas under water - something that has happened during the past few weeks. 

In December 2013, the UK as a whole had 54 per cent more rainfall than normal, due to stormy weather. The deluge has continued through January too, with England having 97 per cent of its average January rainfall in the first 15 days of the month. With the ground saturated and river levels high, this means that even with modest amounts of rainfall, there is a risk of further flooding.

More heavy rain is expected on Friday night, with 10-20mm in western areas, for which the Met Office has issued a warning. The next spell of wet and windy weather will be on Sunday, when another 10-20mm could fall across southern parts of England and Wales - exacerbating the flooding situation further.

The lowest-lying district in Somerset, Sedgemoor has been hard hit by the combination of heavy rain and high tides in recent weeks, which have caused local rivers the Parrett and the Brue to overflow.

Extra pumps required

The village of Muchelney has been completely cut off. and now there are fears that problems are in store for Langport and the village of Westonzoyland, near Bridgwater.

Local MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has written to the prime minister and Communities and Government Minister Eric Pickles to ask for help.

“There is a very real risk of catastrophic flooding on a scale not seen for more than a century unless we act swiftly and decisively.”

“I have told the prime minister we need extra pumping capacity brought here as soon as possible and we may also need help from the military if the situation progresses in the way it appears to be going.”

Mr Liddell-Grainger said that evacuation plans were now being drawn up to move families out before expected heavy rain makes the situation worse.

He has previously blamed the Environment Agency for leaving the whole area at risk by abandoning dredging of the main rivers and failing to maintain pumps used to clear floodwater.

The council, which say this is the third time in three years it has had to deal with floods of this scale, has echoed his call for a long-term solution to the problem.