Severn Trent urges anyone with a garden to do one thing before Storm Eowyn hits Midlands
Storm Eowyn looks set to bring strong winds and heavy rain to the Midlands over the coming days. Yellow weather warnings have been issued across the region, prompting Severn Trent to issue flooding advice.
The majority of the water supply company's region has Met Office alerts in place for wind and rain on Friday, January 24. Blustery weather from Eowyn - the fifth named storm of the season - will continue on Saturday, before calming by Sunday.
However another yellow warning for rain was in place across the region from 8am on Sunday until 6am on Monday, bringing further risk of flooding. Severn Trent has reassured customers its teams were "ready to manage any storm-related incident".
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Scott Ludford, from the firm’s network control team, said: “We are expecting some heavy rain and very strong winds across the region from Friday into Saturday. We can reassure customers all our teams are prepared to manage any storm-related incidents.
“Storm Eowyn will see heavy rain, but it should be less than seen in Storm Darragh in December. But we know how distressing any form of flooding can be, so we are issuing advice again so people know who to contact if the worse happens.”
One piece of advice issued to help people prevent flooding of their properties includes emptying any water butts in their gardens before the rain starts to help reduce the rainwater flow into the drains when a storm arrives. Drains in and around the home should also be checked to ensure they are free-flowing and clear of leaves, with local councils contacted if roadside ones are blocked.
Severn Trent urged customers to contact local councils to report flooding on roads, blocked drains or grates on highways. Local authorities can also help with groundwater surface flooding, plus flooding in streams, brooks and small rivers.
Major river flooding should be flagged to the Environment Agency's flood line on 0345 988 1188. Severn Trent should be contacted for sewer flooding or flooding due to burst pipes. The firm said: "If the flooding is coming from the public sewer you will need to contact us. If the flooding is due to heavy rain, we may need to wait for the flood water to subside before we can investigate. You should also contact your insurer so they can give you help and advice."