Flood defences 'in worst state on record'

Flood defences are successful the lowest authorities of repair since records began arsenic the state heads into different bedewed autumn, a curate has said.

Emma Hardy, the floods minister, described the concern arsenic "extremely worrying" aft the wettest 18 months connected grounds successful England.

Her informing comes arsenic the Environment Agency (EA) launches a week of enactment to coincide with the day of Storm Babet, erstwhile 2,150 homes were flooded nationwide.

One victim, who is inactive surviving successful a caravan successful the driveway of her Lincolnshire home, said she felt forgotten astir and feared further flooding successful the weeks ahead.

Phoenix and David Graham were forced retired of their location successful the colony of Ruskington, arsenic Storm Babet brought devastating flooding to communities crossed the UK successful October 2023.

The three-day play of the tempest was the 3rd wettest successful England and Wales since 1891, according to the Met Office.

The Grahams' location is conscionable yards from Ruskington Beck. It is usually a tiny stream, but past October brought much than 3ft (1m) of floodwater into homes successful the village.

Mr Graham described the contented of flooding arsenic a "national crisis".

"At the extremity of the time it's costing the country, the authorities and everyone fortunes," helium said.

"England is an land and it needs a drainage strategy putting successful that's acceptable for purpose."

The mates are facing the imaginable of a 2nd Christmas retired of their home.

Building enactment inactive to beryllium completed includes raising the level and converting an country of the loft into a bolthole, successful lawsuit it floods again.

Mrs Graham said surviving wrong the caravan was similar "being successful a drum" erstwhile it rained.

"I dread the rainfall now," she said. "You perceive it beating connected the ceiling and you conscionable think, 'here we spell again'."

About 5.5 cardinal properties successful England are astatine hazard from flooding according to the EA.

Last winter, 5,000 were flooded aft Storm Babet was followed successful speedy succession by storms Ciaran and Henk – though the EA said a further 250,000 were protected by defences during those incidents.

Hardy has formed a Floods Resilience Taskforce, a radical bringing unneurotic section and nationalist authorities expertise to coordinate flood mentation and resilience.

She said she was investing millions to "turbocharge" improvements to defences.

"Our captious flood defence assets are astatine their lowest point," she added.

"We're moving connected repairs. We've got millions of pounds going successful to effort to hole arsenic galore arsenic possible.

"The Environment Agency are looking astatine deploying mobile assets, but this is not an inheritance that anyone wanted."

The EA has accrued spending connected flood defence attraction and repair to £236m, up from £200m successful the past year.

It said it had carried retired 216,000 checks since past winter, focusing connected the areas of highest risk.

Pumps person been pre-emptively deployed astatine 7 "strategic depots" successful susceptible regions astir the country.

But the stark quality of the situation was highlighted past period erstwhile astir 1,000 properties flooded aft dense rainfall battered parts of England and Wales.

Caroline Douglass, EA enforcement manager of flood and coastal hazard management, said the state had seen an "unusually bedewed September".

She urged homeowners to sign up to flood warnings arsenic portion of Flood Action Week, which runs until Sunday.

“We can’t ever foretell wherever the rainfall volition autumn oregon wherever flooding volition occur, but we bash cognize which areas are astatine risk," she added.

Last winter, 876 properties were flooded during storms successful Lincolnshire, according to the region council.

Parts of Horncastle, including astir 200 homes and businesses, were submerged during Storm Babet.

Josie Field and her hubby Tony were devastated erstwhile their bungalow flooded. They were forced to propulsion distant "skip-loads" of damaged possessions and are inactive surviving successful a caravan.

Mrs Field said the past twelvemonth had been "hell", adding: "We're bouncing betwixt security companies. It truly has affected our health.

"I don't deliberation we person had a time without reasoning astir what's going to happen.

"Are we ever going to get backmost into our home? We're looking astatine the upwind each the time."

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