Weather: Heavy Rain Could Add To Flood Misery

Communities across southern England have been told to prepare for possible flooding as further heavy rain is forecast for today through to Tuesday.

The Environment Agency (EA) has 10 flood warnings in place for the South West, which mean flooding is expected and immediate action is required.

It highlighted the Somerset Levels, which run south from the Mendip Hills to the Blackdown Hills, as an area which should be prepared for further flooding.

An EA spokeswoman said: "With the ground already saturated, rivers and groundwater levels remain very responsive to rainfall, particularly on the Somerset Levels.

Flood warnings and alerts in England and Wales Pic: Environment Agency

"Environment Agency teams continue to operate up to 62 pumps 24 hours a day to drain an estimated 65 million cubic metres of floodwater off an area of the Levels spanning 65 square kilometres."

There is also potential for further river flooding across the southwest and southern counties including parts of Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, West Berkshire and Surrey into next week.

The Met Office has issued an amber warning of severe weather for the South West from 6am to 2pm today.

It said rain across the UK would be accompanied by strong winds, and up to 20mm of rainfall is expected.

Many communities are still coming to terms with the flooding that hit Somerset at the beginning of January.

The Somerset village of Muchelney has been cut-off by floodwaters

Somerset County Council has declared a "major incident" for all areas affected by flooding in the county.

The leader of the council, John Osman, told Sky News: "There's no let up in the rain coming down. The water levels on the moorlands are rising. We are getting towards breaking point."

A vital boat service operated by Somerset County Council, which is ferrying people to work and school, as well as taking in supplies, is continuing as the access roads are still flooded.

Sedgemoor District Council has also declared a "major incident" on the Somerset Levels.

Strong winds on Saturday blew bricks and tiles off the roofs of houses and forced residents to be evacuated in a street in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

Several people dialled 999 as the storm swept through the town but nobody was hurt, Warwickshire Police said.

The A66 as hill snow falls in the Northern Pennines, earlier

Elsewhere in the county the emergency services and the highways agency have been working with local councils to deal with a number of other storm related incidents including trees which had been brought down by the strong winds, and flooded roads as a result of the heavy rain.

Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler said: "Today's rain may exacerbate the problems  in the South West but is unlikely to have  much impact away from the already flooded areas.

"This week, there may be some small improvements, in so much as there is no further prolonged heavy rain expected before next weekend, but showers will continue."

:: Watch Sky News live on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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