The Environment Agency has urged people to stay vigilant to the
risk of flooding and stay away from swollen rivers.
Published 1 January 2025
Last updated 8 January 2025 — See all updates
The Environment Agency is continuing to urge people to remain
vigilant following the recent flooding, as flood warnings are
still in place and a mixture of already saturated catchments and
melting snow could risk some further disruption in parts of
England on Wednesday and Thursday.
Ongoing minor river flooding impacts are expected along major
rivers in parts of the Midlands today and tomorrow, with minor
impacts possible more widely until Thursday. People in affected
areas should follow advice from emergency services and take
caution, particularly while travelling.
Environment Agency teams remain on the ground supporting the
public and are still operating flood defences and basins to
manage possible impacts.
As of 12:20 on Wednesday 8 January, there are 84 flood warnings,
meaning flooding is expected, and 152 flood alerts, meaning
flooding is possible, live across the country. Since 5 January,
the Environment Agency estimates that across England nearly
35,000 properties have been protected and around 800 properties
have flooded, with reports of further flooding being
investigated.
Heavy rainfall over the New Year also saw significant river
flooding across Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside,
Lancashire and Yorkshire, with the highest river levels on record
being reached on the Mersey in Stockport and South Manchester. In
total, over 70,000 properties have been protected from flooding
and approximately 1,000 properties have flooded across England
since New Year's Eve.
Floods Minister has met with Environment Agency
Chief Executive Philip Duffy to discuss the nation's response to
the recent flooding events. During the meeting, the Floods
Minister was briefed on the current situation on the ground, and
the response being led by the Environment Agency and the
emergency services. Together, they discussed how to continue to
support the collective efforts of the Environment Agency,
emergency services, and local authorities in responding to
flooding.
The Environment Agency continues to monitor the forecast and
impacts on river levels. Its message to the public remains to
check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep
up to date with the latest situation.
Stefan Laeger, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment
Agency, said:
The recent heavy rain combined with melting snow means ongoing
minor river flooding will continue in parts of the Midlands today
and on Thursday, with minor river flooding expected in parts of
England along major rivers today and into Thursday.
Environment Agency teams continue to be out on the ground,
operating flood defences, taking action to reduce the impact of
flooding, issuing flood warnings and supporting those communities
affected.
We urge people to remain vigilant over the next few days, advise
anyone travelling to be careful and urge people to stay away from
swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water as just 30cm
of flowing water is enough to move your car.
People should search check my flood risk,
sign up for free flood warnings, and keep up to date with the
latest situation at @EnvAgency on X.
Floods Minister said:
Yesterday afternoon I held an urgent meeting with the Environment
Agency about the ongoing flooding incident.
My sympathies go out to the people, businesses and communities
impacted by the recent flooding across the country.
I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the
Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep
people safe. People must continue to follow their advice and sign
up for flood warnings.
This Government is working at pace to accelerate the building of
flood defences through our new Floods Resilience Taskforce and
investing £2.4 billion, so we can continue to protect people and
their homes.
Lessons learned from these floods will be fed directly into the
new Floods Resilience
Taskforce to speed up the development of flood defences and
bolster the nation's resilience to extreme weather.
The Taskforce brings together the Secretary of State and Minister
Hardy with representatives from Defra, MHCLG, Home Office,
Cabinet Office, the Environment Agency, the Met Office, Local
Resilience Forums, Mayoral Offices, emergency responders and the
National Farmers Union, among others.
