Millions of Brits have been affected by heavy rain, causing blocked roads and train lines – as well as dozens of flood warnings covering swathes of the nation.
The Environment Agency currently has 82 flood warnings in place, meaning flooding is likely, as heavy rain has swollen rivers which could burst their banks.
On top of those are another 298 flood alerts where people are urged to prepare for the event of flooding. The heavy wintry showers could cause travel disruption as well as power outages, leading to communities being cut off.
A spokesman for the The Environment Agency said: “Local surface water flooding is probable across parts of the South of England on Thursday and Friday. Land, roads and some properties could flood and there could be travel disruption.”
“Local inland flooding is also possible across parts of the Midlands, East of England and the South of England on Thursday and possible more widely across England on Friday. Local inland flooding is also possible across parts of the East and North of England on Saturday and Sunday.”
“River flooding may continue on some slower responding rivers in the West Midlands until Monday. Local tidal/coastal flooding is possible but not expected along coasts of the South of England on Friday, for parts of the North East and Yorkshire and Humber coast on Friday through to Sunday, and for the North West coast of England on Sunday and Monday.”
The warnings come as The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (Biba) urged the Government to increase investment in flood defences, the Mirror reports.
To help households in flood-affected properties, Biba suggested that flood resilience materials should be free from VAT and a part of IPT receipts should be set aside to fund flood defence investments specifically.
Graeme Trudgill, the boss of Biba, said: “We know individuals are struggling due to the cost of living, and this sits at the heart of our calls to action in our latest manifesto and our Budget submission. Recently there have been multiple stories about individuals cutting back on their insurance cover levels, or in extreme cases, cancelling cover entirely and we believe that these measures will make a difference.”
The Met Office’s forecast for today reads: “Wintry showers continuing in the far north, with a band of rain and mainly hill snow across central areas moving northwards through the day. Cloudier in the south with some showers, these locally heavy. Mild in the south, colder elsewhere.”
