The Environment Agency has urged communities in the North and East of England, parts of the Midlands and North Wales to prepare for more flooding in what is forecast to be the wettest day of the summer so far. Parts of the country are expected to receive a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours.

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Although flooding is possible in 90 places across the UK, most of which are north of a diagonal band between London and North Wales, there are also three flood alerts, suggesting flooding is imminent in parts of Nottinghamshire and Lancashire.

The Met Office said today is likely to be “Very wet across central England, Wales and parts of Northern England, with persistent heavy rain causing localised disruption due to flooding.” The office has issued an ‘amber’ weather warning and predicts 40 millimetres of rain could fall across areas where warnings are in place, rising to 100 millimetres over the weekend in some regions.

Phil Rothwell, head of Flood Risk Strategy at the Environment Agency said, “Friday will be particularly bad across the Pennines and the area between Nottingham and Newcastle is going to see some really heavy weather. We are worried that this area will suffer much the same problems as we saw a week or two ago.”

“We have got our teams out 24 hours a day working to make sure that our flood defences work properly, that our flood culverts are clear, that our screens are clear and that all the machinery works properly. We have been working with our partners in the emergency services and local authorities to make sure everyone is prepared for what really will be a horrible weekend.”

The Agency has advised people in affected regions to sign up to flood warnings and to avoid flood waters. Anyone wishing to know whether they are at risk of being affected by flooding is advised to check the Environment Agency website here.

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