Heavy rains caused flooding in the South and West of the UK over the weekend and the wet weather is unlikely to let up until Wednesday, according to the Met Office. There are fears that the North of England and Midlands could be next to suffer flooding as storms move northwards.

There are currently 197 flood warnings in place in the UK, almost half of which are in the Midlands. Although there are a large number of warnings, suggesting flooding is imminent, in Central England, the number of less severe flood alerts is higher in the South, where 116 of 288 alerts are in place.   

The Environment Agency announced on Sunday (25th November), that it had deployed emergency teams across the country to areas hit by flooding. The agency said its teams are ensuring flood defences are operating effectively, deploying temporary barriers, monitoring river levels, clearing blockages from watercourses and pumping out flood water from towns.

Heavy rainfall in a number of regions led rivers to rise rapidly, bursting their banks and flooding some towns over the weekend and into Monday morning. Waterlogging in fields is widespread throughout the south and midlands; Shropshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire have been particularly affected.

The recent rainfall follows the wettest spring-summer period on record. Downpours earlier in the year affected Northern England and the South-West particularly severely.

Paul Mustow, Head of Flood Incident Management at the Environment Agency said, "Flooding has a devastating impact on peoples' lives and our thoughts are with those that have been affected overnight and in the last few days. Our teams are continuing to work around the clock with local emergency services to keep communities safe and to ensure that flood defences operate effectively in what are very challenging circumstances."

He added, "We are expecting more flooding in the next 24 hours and communities across north and southern central England and North Wales are urged to remain especially vigilant."

According to local news sources, in the North of England, "Thousands of acres of farmland are disappearing under water."

The Met Office has said rainfall on Monday may lead to flooding in parts of Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and North Yorkshire. On Monday afternoon, the Environment Agency urged residents in areas of Northern England susceptible to flooding to "remain vigilant" and sign up for free flood alerts, as up to 30mm of rain is forecast for parts of North Yorkshire, Teesside, County Durham and Conway. In many areas, ground is already sodden, meaning runoff into water courses is much more likely.

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