In the East Midlands, Storm Babet resulted in the highest recorded river levels at 37 locations, as well as bringing the wettest 3-day period that Nottinghamshire had ever experienced on record.
Storm Babet was then followed by Storms Ciaran and Henk, which led to more significant flooding. Flood defences operated very well overall and protected a significant number of properties in the region.
The anniversary also coincides with the Environment Agency’s annual Flood Action Week, which is a campaign dedicated to showing people the steps they can take to reduce the devastation caused by flooding. It also aims to encourage people to sign up for the flood warning service that informs you if your home is at risk of flooding.
In the East Midlands alone, the Environment Agency is currently working on 52 flood risk projects to return assets to the condition they were in before the storms last winter. These projects have all been created using evidence from the flooding caused by the three storms. Designing and delivering flood schemes can be complicated and therefore take time to establish.
In the last 12 months, an array of projects have been completed to help better protect communities. In Raynesway, Derbyshire, the team installed rock armour along a flood embankment. It had started to erode due to the high water levels caused by Storm Babet and Storm Henk. Quick action was required to ensure the nearby businesses and critical infrastructure in that area remained protected.
2180 tonnes of stone were used to fill a hole on the Folly Road Flood Bank in Darley Abbey.
High levels of water also caused erosion on the Folly Road Flood Bank in Darley Abbey. Forty metres were repaired by the Environment Agency, Jackson Civil Engineering, and Derby City Council. Over a period of 11 weeks, 2180 tonnes of stone were brought in to fill the large scour hole and protect the bottom of the embankment.
In Lowdham, the high river levels caused by Storm Babet resulted in overtopping and the deterioration of the flood storage wall. The wall surrounds the cricket pitch and is the boundary of the storage area. The design of the flood asset means that when river levels are high, they spill onto the cricket pitch. Therefore, the flood storage wall keeps the water within that boundary. The high levels of water experienced with Storm Babet, and then continued very closely by Storms Ciaran and Henk, resulted in further deterioration of the masonry wall. The Environment Agency Nottingham field team worked quickly to assess the damage, take down the damaged stretch of wall, and rebuild it. This work was completed in March, less than a month after the last period of storms.
Since Storm Babet, the Environment Agency has been reassessing the areas that are covered by the flood warning service to ensure all at-risk areas are targeted. This work has so far resulted in three new areas being added to the flood warning system in the East Midlands—Rearsby, Syston, and Sileby.
The Environment Agency is also developing a Property Flood Resilience (PFR) programme for those homes affected by the storms. This could involve them being offered things like air brick covers and demountable barriers to have on the outside of their homes.
More than 26 drop-in sessions have been conducted in the East Midlands, which more than 1600 people attended. The Environment Agency spent more than 2,000 hours attending and organising these key sessions. The drop-in sessions provided members of the public with a chance to ask any flood-related questions they had. The events are attended by our partners, who have a role during flooding, so everyone the public needs is all in one room.
Paul Lockhart, Flood Risk Manager in the East Midlands for the Environment Agency, said:
“We know the devastating impact flooding can have, which is why we are working closely with our professional partners on a number of projects to protect communities.
It is important that the public understand their flood risk, are signed up for our flood warning service, and educate themselves on how they can better protect themselves and their property from flooding.
The best way to protect yourself from flooding is early preparation and knowing what to do in advance.
Some of the actions people can take to reduce the dangers are:
- Check your long-term flood risk. You can use this free service to find out the long-term flood risk for an area in England, the possible causes of flooding, and how to manage flood risk.
- Sign up for flood warnings by phone, text or email
- Taking steps to protect yourself from future flooding – including storing important documents in a secure, waterproof location, taking rugs and small furniture upstairs, checking how to turn off your electricity and water, preparing a flood kit.
