North East communities advised to check their flood risk
Heavy rain this weekend could cause river levels to rise.
Check your flood risk
The Environment Agency is warning residents and businesses in the North East to check their flood risk ahead of predicted heavy rainfall this weekend.
Forecasts suggest that there will be heavy rain from Friday night across the weekend, posing significant risks of surface water flooding and the potential for flooding from rivers.
Widespread rain will cross the area overnight and is then forecast to sit over the western and central area.
This rainfall will fall on saturated ground and will result in widespread surface water affecting roads and low lying land.
The rivers across the area will also respond and we expect potential flooding from the main rivers in Northumberland, as well as the Wear.
In advance of the rainfall, Environment Agency teams have been working hard to prepare by checking and maintaining flood defences, clearing blockages in watercourses and monitoring water levels. They will be issuing flood warnings where necessary.
Residents and businesses are advised to check their flood risk and keep up to date with the latest situation at www.gov.uk/check-if-youre-at-risk-of-flooding, or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188.
If travelling the public should not attempt to drive through flood water – 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.
The Environment Agency’s Richard Robinson said:
There is expected to be some heavy rainfall this weekend, while we expect the whole of the area to have some issues it is currently looking like the Upper Wear and Tyne areas will be the most affected from potential river flooding. Surface water flooding will affect all areas.
This could lead to some localised flooding over the next few days. As a result, there’s likely to be some disruption to roads and travel and some potential for flooding from rivers.
Environment Agency teams are out on the ground, checking flood defences, clearing trash screens and blockages in waterways, and we continue to monitor river levels closely.
We will issue flood warnings to affected communities if it’s necessary, and will operate our defences in a timely manner, and would urge people to keep up to date with the latest flood risk information and weather forecasts.
People should check their flood risk and keep up to date with the latest situation here or follow @EnvAgencyYNE and #floodaware on Twitter for the latest flood updates.