A weather warning for heavy rain been upgraded to a serious amber alert, with communities at risk of being cut off and some properties at ‘imminent’ risk of flooding.
Met Office forecasters warned that some areas may see as much as 120mm of rain ‘or more’ on Monday alone – more than double the average for the whole month in Oxford.
In one area, flooding of property was yesterday said to be ‘imminent’, with the government warning people to ‘move possessions and valuables off the ground or to safety and move family, pets and cars to safety’.
The maps below shows areas where people need to take particular care, with risk of lightning, power cuts, travel cancellations, difficult driving conditions, road closures and damage to buildings all possible, as well as entire villages being waterlogged.
If you live in the below areas covered by the amber alert, it’s time to quickly get your flood plan in place…
These are the areas on amber alert for rain from 5am until 9pm on September 23: Derbyshire; Leicester; Lincolnshire; Northamptonshire; Nottingham; Nottinghamshire; Rutland; Cambridgeshire; Peterborough; Oxfordshire; Gloucestershire; Herefordshire; Shropshire; Staffordshire; Stoke-on-Trent; Telford and Wrekin; Warwickshire; West Midlands Conurbation; Worcestershire; East Riding of Yorkshire; Kingston upon Hull; North East Lincolnshire; North Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire.
The area where people were warned to immediately move their families, cars, and possessions to safety is the vicinity of the Grace Dieu Brook including the junction on Ashby Road and Snarrow’s Road, in Leicestershire.
‘River levels are rising at the Whitwick downstream river gauge as a result of localised thunderstorms,’ the government’s flood alert service said. ‘Consequently, flooding of property is imminent. Areas most at risk are Whitwick and Thringstone.
‘Further heavy rainfall is forecast over the next 48 hours. We expect river levels to remain high until September 24. We are closely monitoring the situation.
‘Please move possessions and valuables off the ground or to safety and move family, pets and cars to safety.’
People were also warned to take action at Saredon Brook at Wedges Mills, Cannock, near Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, where flood risk is particularly high.
Amber weather warnings are more serious, and more rare, than yellow warnings which appear fairly regularly, and the second highest alert level after red. The last time central England was affected by one for storms was over a year ago, on June 12, 2023, when the West Midlands, Gloucestershire, and Buckinghamshire were among the areas told to prepare for thunderstorms.
It comes after Sunday was already torrential for many parts of the UK, as Storm Boris approaches having wreaked havoc further south in Europe already, causing major floods.
One home in Stoke-on-Trent was reportedly struck by lightning, with neighbours evacuated and police cordoning off part of their street.
The Environment Agency issued flood warnings for large parts of England tomorrow, including an orange ‘medium’ risk covering much of the central region relating to both river and surface water flooding.
It issued multiple flood alerts across central England, saying: ‘It’s likely that runoff from rainfall or blocked drains will cause properties and roads to flood. If this happens, your life might be in danger.
‘It’s possible but not expected that overflowing rivers will cause properties and roads to flood.’
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