Further heavy rain could worsen flooding after Storm Chandra
A yellow rain alert has been issued for Devon and Cornwall on Friday in areas already saturated by heavy rain.
Further heavy rainfall could worsen flooding in some areas with more downpours forecast intensifying problems across an already saturated UK.
A yellow rain alert has been issued for Devon and Cornwall on Friday, which will affect previously sodden ground following Storm Chandra.
The Met Office issued the alert from 9am on Friday through to 6am on Saturday for an area stretching from Land’s End to Exeter.
A separate yellow warning for Northern Ireland, on Friday, is forecast to bring “spells of heavy rain leading to some transport disruption and flooding in places”.
On Thursday, there were 64 flood warnings and 150 flood alerts across England.
Rain is already forecast in the south west of England on Thursday afternoon, and the Met Office said further downpours were expected on Friday.
“Outbreaks of rain, heavy at times, are expected to arrive across Cornwall on Friday morning,” a spokesman said.
“10mm to 20mm rainfall is likely widely, with up to 30mm possible over the moors and perhaps west Cornwall.
“Falling on saturated ground, this may lead to some flooding and disruption.
“Strong winds are also likely in places.”
Meanwhile, the RNLI is warning people to be vigilant near the coast in Devon and Cornwall due to because of the potential of 15ft waves surging up exposed beaches and topping over sea fronts and harbour walls.
Steve Instance, from the charity, said: “Current forecasts for Friday are predicting wave heights between 10ft to 15ft, which isn’t unusual for this time of year, however, what makes this particularly worrying is the long lull, or swell period between the waves.
“Surf forecasts are predicting a 17-second swell period. What this looks like is a gap between sets of very large, very powerful waves of up to 15 minutes.
“This could mean, particularly close to high tide in the middle of the day, people walking on beaches or along sea fronts will be faced with a sudden surging set of waves racing 200 metres to 300 metres up the beach, or topping over sea or harbour walls.
“There is a risk this could catch walkers out and in the worst case sweep them off their feet into the sea.”
On Thursday, a body was recovered from the River Exe in the search for a kayaker who reportedly got into difficulty near Great Western Bridge in Tiverton on Saturday afternoon.
Formal identification is yet to take place but the family of the missing man, aged in his 40s, has been made aware of the development, Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed.
A severe flood warning, meaning a danger to life, remained in place for the Lower Stour at Iford Bridge Home Park, where residents were told to evacuate their properties “as soon as possible”.
Floods minister Emma Hardy said: “Flooding is devastating and my thoughts are with the people affected.
“I am in regular contact with the Environment Agency on their response to the ongoing flooding in Somerset and Dorset who, alongside local authorities and the emergency services, are already taking action to keep communities safe.
“I urge residents to follow local advice over the next few days to ensure they stay safe.”
The Environment Agency said teams were on the ground switching on pumps to remove flood water as soon as river levels allow, with ultra high-volume pumps used in Northmoor and Saltmoor on the Somerset Levels.
On Wednesday, Somerset Council said an estimated 50 properties had been affected by flooding across Ilminster, West Coker, Taunton, Mudford and West Camel.
The Flooding on the Levels Action Group (Flag), which has long campaigned for improvements to drainage and flood alleviation on the Somerset Levels, is calling for the pumping station at Northmoor to be upgraded.
“For the third time in 12 years, residents and landowners on the Somerset Levels and moors are facing the prospect of a potential catastrophic flood,” the group said.
“There have been many opportunities missed during this recent event that could have led to deploying the pumps earlier and relieving the stress of the local community.
“To avoid further incompetence, Flag would like to see a total upgrade of the current pumping station at Northmoor.”
The group said that bringing in temporary pumps costs about £500,000 per flood.
“It would be more cost effective in the long run to have permanent pumping capacity that can cope with these more frequent weather events,” they added.
“With the costs to the county escalating with road closures, clean-up charges and the hit to the local economy; to upgrade the pumping station would be a cheaper option for the future.
“We accept that you can never guarantee that a flood will never happen again, however, we cannot accept incompetence and tardiness that make it feel inevitable when it can be preventable.”
Three flood alerts are in place for Wales, while there are three flood warnings and two flood alerts in Scotland.
Storm Chandra is the latest storm to be named by the western Europe storm naming group list shared between the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.
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