First flood barriers go up in Shrewsbury as red flood warnings are issued in Powys
Barriers are going up in Shrewsbury as rising river levels from Storm Barra move closer to the county town.
Further upstream people living north east of Melverley and Crew Green have been warned to move possessions and valuables off the ground, amid a red flood warning for the Melverley Vyrnwy catchment. River levels were expected to peak in that area on Wednesday afternoon.
Red flood warnings are also in place for six areas in Powys, at Criggion, Llandrinio, Welshpool, Buttington, Pool Quay and Trewern. The Welshpool to Berriew road is closed because of flooding.
There are flood alerts for the Severn Vyrnwy confluence, the entire River Severn through the county, the River Lugg at Leominster, Upper Teme, Tern and Perry catchments and across the Shropshire border the River Dee, the Vyrnwy catchment and the Upper Severn.
The Environment Agency said flooding could affect properties and roads in and around Melverley including Acre lane.
"We are closely monitoring the situation and our incident response staff are liaising with emergency services. Please move possession and valuables off the ground or to safety and move family, pets and cars to safety." a spokesman said.
"Due to rising levels on the River Severn, we are deploying the first phase of barriers at Frankwell."
