Praise for 'Band of Brothers' protecting homes from River Severn flooding
A tribute was today paid to the hundreds of workers giving their time over Christmas and New Year to ensure homes are protected from the rising waters of the River Severn.
Dubbed as a Band of Brothers by those working with them, the Environment Agency has seen teams working around the clock to protect people as stormy weather continues to batter the UK.
Dave Throup, Environment Agency manager for the Shropshire, Hereford and Worcester area has been sharing pictures on his Twitter page to show of the hard work of those who have been keeping others safe.
Mr Throup paid tribute to the work of Environment Agency staff who have been manning flood defences and preparing alerts to advise people about flooding.
He said today: "A lot of us have been working right through Christmas because we need to make sure the defences we have got up are working, check the impact of rainfall on defences so we can see they are working as intended, and put out alerts on what is actually happening.
"There are also the poor guys manning the barriers who are there at Frankwell 24/7.
"It has been a tricky period over Christmas but a lot of work. Even though the flooding is only normal flooding for this time of year there is still a lot of work for the Environment Agency to make sure the defences are working right and providing warnings for people."
In Shropshire, flood barriers have been in place in Shrewsbury for a week, forcing back the River Severn which would otherwise be in flood.
Floods minister Rory Stewart warned there could be a "very bad situation" for flood-hit residents who were today set to feel the full force of Storm Frank.
He said he is "very concerned" as the storm sweeps across the UK from the Atlantic.
Satellite images showed the deep depression building to the west of the country.
It was expected to bring gales and downpours, with Cumbria and southern and central Scotland most at risk of more disruption.
Most of the nine remaining "severe" flood warnings issued by the Environment Agency for England and Wales - meaning potential loss of life - are centred on York, which was inundated on Boxing Day.
The storm is looming as a barrier on the River Foss which was opened on Boxing day, flooding hundreds of properties in York, was closed again yesterday after emergency repairs by engineers.
Asked how worried he is about the forecasts for Storm Frank, Mr Stewart said: "Very concerned. These emergency services personnel have been working really hard, so have volunteers.
"I'm now working my way across Yorkshire, heading back up to Cumbria. People have barely had a break for three and a half weeks because this has been going continually since early December.
"As you say, there's another front coming in, there could be more flooding again so we really need emergency services, voluntary groups, mountain rescue to rest to be ready for what could be a very bad situation Wednesday, Thursday."
There has been anger over a perceived North/South divide on flood spending and that flooding in Leeds was a preventable disaster.
But Mr Stewart rejected that position, saying that it is a "very fair system" done on the basis of "how many houses are protected and what the risk is to those properties".
The Met Office has issued amber warnings with up to 40mm of persistent rain expected widely across Northern Ireland, west and south-west Scotland, Wales and north-west England.
Barriers are also up in Bewdley, with flooding also causing problems along Severn Side South in Kidderminster earlier this week.
Despite that, Shrewsbury looks set to escape the worst of the flooding as the country prepares for the arrival of Storm Frank.
The latest storm was set to sweep in last night, and despite heavy rainfall anticipated to add to widespread flooding in the north of England, the majority of Shropshire's flood defences will remain in reserve.
Mr Throup said he expects Storm Frank to affect the catchment area of the Wye, but to largely miss the Vyrnwy catchment leading to the River Severn.
He said: "More than 100 Environment Agency staff have been covering 24 hours a day monitoring river levels, deploying and manning flood barriers and issuing flood alerts and warnings in Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire during the festive period and further into the New Year."
Storm Frank is expected to bring one and a half inches more of rain to the country – and potentially more over the Welsh hills.
To check the ongoing flood risk or to keep up to date with the situation, follow shropshirestar.com or @EnvAgencymids and #floodaware on Twitter.
