Cumbria’s flood risk chief says the main focus of the Environment Agency is currently on West Cumbria as the county deals with heavy rainfall.
Stewart Mounsey says the Keswick and West Cumbria areas are feeling the most severe effects of the ongoing storm and has issued advice for residents.
“At the moment our largest focus is on West Cumbria,” said Mr Mounsey, flood risk manager for Cumbria at the Environment Agency.
“What we have is a frontal system coming across Cumbria and the mountains lift the air up and that is what causes the heavy rain. West Cumbria is likely to get more but we are going to see widespread rain across Cumbria.
“The rivers respond quite quickly, and some of the smaller rivers will respond today and into tomorrow and then the Eden will respond after that, so we are likely to see that peaking on Friday.
“It depends on the bands of rain, so if the bands come in constantly that is more of a concern than if it’s patchy. As soon as we get some breaks in the weather, the rivers will go down quite quickly and then have the capacity to take more rain.”
Flood alerts are in force for the Rivers Cocker, Marron and Derwent and the Rivers Ehen, Calder, Irt and Esk. To read more about the latest flood warnings and alerts, click here.
Mr Mounsey warned residents to take measures to protect themselves from flooding.
“People can sign up for our flood warnings at gov.uk. You can type in your postcode, check your risk of flooding and if you are at risk of flooding I would encourage you to sign up for our flood warnings and that way they will get our latest information,” he said.
“There is also information on there about how to prepare for a flood. It is well worth thinking about that and the advice in those documents.
“My advice to people would be prepared, sign up to our flood warnings if you haven’t already, if you have property-level protection then make sure that is to hand and all the kit is there just in case you need it.”
He also advised people to stay away from rivers and to avoid driving near or through floodwater.
