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Met Office weather warning in place for flood-hit Somerset

Weather warning in place for flood-hit county

A weather warning has been updated for Somerset as a major incident alert remains in place in the county.

Parts of Somerset, as well as parts of Wiltshire, Devon and Cornwall, are under a yellow Met Office warning for rain, which came into force at 18:00 GMT on Monday.

The warning will now remain in place until 18:00 on Tuesday, sparking concern following widespread flooding caused by Storm Chandra.

On Monday, councillor Mike Stanton, chair of the Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA), said the agency was on "tenterhooks" ahead of further rain.

What is being done to help stop flooding?

Comparing the situation to the significant flooding seen in Somerset in 2014, Stanton said: "Until it stops, and a couple of days later stops flowing down the rivers towards Bridgwater, we're just going to be on tenterhooks until we see the outcome."

The SRA was set up in response to flooding in 2014 and has since spent about £40m on schemes to improve the impact of heavy rain, including extensive dredging of the River Parrett and raising the banks of the King's Sedgemoor drain.

"[There is] always more needed, particularly with climate change increasing our rainfall by 20% or 30%," said Stanton, adding that he would like to see facilities such as the temporary pumping station at Northmoor being made permanent.

What has the Environment Agency said?

The Environment Agency (EA) has highlighted a number of schemes in place, including opening Monk's Leaze Clyse and reducing flows in the River Parrett, lowering levels in the Tone and reducing the flow into Currymoor.

The EA has also installed contingency pumps at Aller Drove and the Westonzoyland Flood Alleviation Schemes with works also under way to start removing flow restrictions in North Moor Main Drain.

"Staff are on the ground inspecting assets to ensure they are fully operational and to identify any issues early," a spokesperson for the agency added.