Somerset communities 'effectively left stranded to fight flooding'

Urgent pleas to demand more is done to protect Somerset communities from future flooding have been issued after the major incident which struck the county this week. Liberal Democrat MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, Sarah Dyke, wrote to the Minister for Water and Flooding, Emma Hardy, after the devastation caused.

Residents in the worst affected areas of Somerset were been evacuated from their homes after Storm Eowyn hit. Somerset Council and police jointly declared a major incident in the region.

The Met Office has confirmed that 55.9mm of rain fell on Seavington St Michael on Sunday, January 26, when the average for the entire month of January is 100.26mm. A Met Office spokesperson said: “Somerset's rainfall so far this month isn't likely to trouble the record wettest January, though it has been wetter than average.”

READ MORE: 'Cramped and awkward' housing estate refused for the second time

READ MORE: Art deco 1930s fire station 'should be listed, not demolished'

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said 61 people and some pets were rescued from mobile homes. A multi-agency operation was launched to help residents in the worst affected areas of the county. The evacuated residents in Somerton were relocated to Edgar Hall in the town. Crews used water rafts and boats, and also checked gas cylinders and other items to ensure the properties were left in a safe condition.

As well as Somerton, Ilminster, Chard, Martock and Yeovil were also hit by heavy flooding. Numerous roads in and out of the towns and the neighbouring villages were rendered impassable to motorists, while the Sainsbury’s in Chard flooded.

This week Ms Dyke has visited communities across Glastonbury and Somerton who have been impacted by Storm Herminia and supported the relief effort for residents of Primrose Hill residential park who were evacuated from their homes.

She said: “Visiting communities this week affected by the recent floods, has been another stark reminder how terrifying and exhausting it is for residents who are forced to evacuate their homes, or left desperately anxious as flood water encroaches their property, unable to get help as roads are cut off by flood water, with some people even being evacuated in dinghies.

Some places in the constituency flood year on year, it’s relentless. But more and more communities are dealing with flooding for the first time. We know that the risk of flooding will increase with climate change upon us, and after years of underinvestment by the previous Conservative led County Council and Government it is now absolutely imperative that Local Authorities are given the funding they need to carry out long overdue repairs and maintenance to infrastructure. Residents must also be supported to build resilience, mitigate floods, and protect themselves.

“This situation where communities are effectively left stranded to fight flooding simply cannot go on, it’s short sighted and more expensive in the long term. The Government must make funding available for the flood prevention communities are crying out for, immediately.”

In the letter, Ms Dyke put forward several possible solutions which would help alleviate flooding issues in her constituency, including: extreme weather resilience plans, exploring natural flood defence management and incentivising landowners to assist in flood mitigation.

Ms Dyke highlighted that Somerset is often at the forefront of fighting flooding, and that more must be done to support communities at risk. She shared her concern that local government funding models are broken and Somerset Council’s budgets are stretched to breaking point, so more money must be made available from central government. Ms Dyke suggested that an effective starting point would be ring fencing funding for flood risk management and increasing the Defra budget to properly fund the Environment Agency to deal with floods.

A spokesperson for Somerset Council said: “A huge shoutout to our street cleaning teams who have been working tirelessly to clear the worst affected areas from the recent flooding.

"This week they've been in Chard clearing debris from flooded areas and in Shepton Beauchamp clearing 13 tonnes of mud from the streets!

“To help us build a picture of flood risk areas across Somerset, please let us know if you've suffered from any flood damage following the recent storms. If you need to report an incident, the quickest and easiest way to report this is online via the following links:

For anyone worried about flooding or impacted by flooding: https://orlo.uk/zIruN

For anyone living in Somerset Council owned properties: https://orlo.uk/X9Rmw

Reporting tool for anyone affected by flooding: https://orlo.uk/GypBK

Report a problem on the road: https://orlo.uk/Yr0h1