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Flood recovery: action plans for flood-hit communities

How the Environment Agency and partners responded to the flooding of winter 2015, and action plans to protect affected communities.

What happened in 2015

Over 17,000 homes and businesses were flooded in December 2015; the wettest month ever recorded in the UK. Storms brought record rainfall and river flows, affecting Cumbria, Lancashire, the north east and Yorkshire.

Environment Agency flood defences protected over 12,500 properties during Storm Desmond and 10,900 during Storms Eva and Frank.

Since then the Environment Agency, along with communities, government departments and partners, has worked to ensure we’re better protected against future flooding.

Helping communities recover

In the March 2015 budget, the government announced an additional £700 million to protect communities across the country. Some of this money is being used in areas affected last winter, including Yorkshire and Cumbria.

In September 2016, the National Flood Resilience Review awarded a further £12.5 million to the Environment Agency and £750,000 to the Fire and Rescue Services to be spent on preparing the country for extreme flooding events. The Environment Agency now has 5 times more temporary flood barriers than last winter.

Flood action plans

Flood action plans set out how future flood risk is being tackled in areas affected by the 2015 floods.

Published 2 December 2016