Environment Agency
Heavy rain and thunderstorms from Monday 23 September have led to flooding in parts of England. These impacts included a combination of surface water flooding and some river flooding. Around 200 properties were flooded across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Kent and the Home Counties.
Environment Agency staff remain out on the ground, clearing blockages and supporting local authorities in their response work.
With unsettled conditions expected during the coming few days, further flooding is possible but not expected on Thursday and Friday, so we continue to urge people to keep an eye on the weather, check their flood risk, and take care planning their journeys.
Kate Marks, FloodDuty Manager at the Environment Agency, said:
Following this weeks heavy rain and thunderstorms, flood warnings and alerts remain in place across many parts of the country. The risk of further significant surface water flooding is also possible but not expected in parts of the country on Thursday and Friday.
Environment Agency teams continue to be out on the ground, supporting local authorities in responding to surface waterflooding. We urge people to plan their journeys carefully, follow the advice of local emergency services on the roads and not to drive throughfloodwater it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.
People shouldcheck theirfloodrisk,sign up for freefloodwarnings and keep up to date with the latest situation as well as following @EnvAgency on X, formerly Twitter, for the latestfloodupdates.
The Environment Secretary has been in Northamptonshire today to meet Environment Agency teams who have been working with partners to protect communities from the impacts of flooding.
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed said:
My heartfelt sympathies go to all those affected by flooding in recent days.
Today in Northampton Ive seen firsthand the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to protect communities from the dangers of flooding.
The Government is working around the clock to speed up the building of flood defences and boost our emergency response through our Flood Resilience Taskforce.
The Environment Agency recognises the threat from surface water flooding and is taking action to improve the countrys resilience for instance supporting local flood authorities to enhance local surface water flood risk mapping. See our blog on surface water floo