ABOUT 30 homes in Worcestershire are thought to have been flooded after the river Severn reached its highest levels for almost five years.

Homes have been affected in the Diglis area of Worcester, Upton and Severn Stoke, although the full extent of the damage is not yet clear as they remain cut off by flood waters.

The river Severn in Worcester peaked on Christmas Day afternoon, having reached levels last seen in January 2008.

However, experts have warned there could be more flooding on the way as Worcestershire and Wales are set to be struck by more rain today and at the weekend.

Dave Throup, of the Environment Agency, urged residents to remain vigilant.

He said: “As far as Worcestershire is concerned, we’re really seeing most of the issues on the river Severn.

“Most of the rain has come down from Wales this time, rather than the Avon or Teme.

“It’s different from the flood in November, which was fed by the Avon.

“We saw a peak in Bewdley on Christmas Day and all the barriers are currently up.

“We’ll leave them up until today and look at the weather forecasts.

“The peak at Worcester was Tuesday afternoon and levels have been very high – the highest since January 2008.

“The problem is they have dipped very slightly but we’re really not expecting them to dip until today or tomorrow and we may then be looking at another peak from Wales.

“As we go towards Upton, levels are very high indeed.

“They’re broadly the same as November, al-though in some places they’re considerably higher and there are complications with how the flood plains work.

“Over the next few days, it’s very unsettled weather again.

“The problem is rain will affect surface water run-off right away and then that finds its way into the big rivers.

“There could potentially be 10mm of rainfall today.

“Towards the weekend, there’s a risk of very heavy rain over Wales particularly, and 0.5 to 1in over Worcestershire this weekend.

“The biggest risk is property close to the big rivers.

Properties have flooded in the Worcester, Severn Stoke and Upton areas.

“We’re still gathering information and we think about 30 properties have been affected, but we don’t really know yet as we can’t get to these places.

“We want people travelling in particular to take real care.

“As soon as you get rain there’s going to be deep water on the roads.

“We’re still seeing people entering water in cars and that’s really not good.

“There are a lot of roads that are cut off and they’re going to stay that way. People living near the bigger rivers need to stay alert and watch flood warnings on the Environment Agency website or listen to their local radio station.”

A driver had to be rescued on Christmas Eve after their car became trapped in flood waters.

Firefighters were called to Little Hereford, near Tenbury Wells, at about 10.50pm.

One engine from Tenbury Wells, one from Leominster and the water first responder team attended.

The stranded motorist was safely brought back onto dry land by 11.20pm.

Train services that were disrupted by flood waters earlier in the week have now resumed.
However, several roads remain closed across the county.

Engineers from Severn Trent have been working 24 hours a day to pump away flood water in Hylton Road.  The road was cleared of water yesterday afternoon, but as of 10.50am today it remains closed.


A Severn Trent spokeswoman said: “The pumps will remain on site ready to deal with any further flooding and the road will be cleared and swept before opening to ensure safety.”

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