UK PREPARING FOR WORST STORM SURGE 60 YEARS

UK PREPARING FOR WORST STORM SURGE 60 YEARS 

The Environment Agency (EA) has issued more than 230 flood alerts across England and Wales, including 43 severe flood warnings, which are only issued when flooding poses a “significant threat to life”.

The severe warnings – the highest category – are in place for coastal areas in East Anglia, the Midlands and Kent.

The agency said communities along the North Sea coast from Northumberland to the Thames Estuary and Kent, in addition to those on the Irish Sea coast from Cumbria down to Cheshire, could see significant coastal flooding tonight and into Friday.

The EA said in some areas sea levels could be higher than those during the devastating floods of 1953 – which battered the east coast of England and claimed the lives of hundreds of people.

The Met Office said there had been severe gales of between 60mph and 80mph across Scotland and northern parts of England, and some mountainous regions in Aberdeenshire and Inverness-shire reported speeds of around 140mph.

In Norfolk, 9,000 homes are being evacuated as local officials attempt to stem the damage from the coastal surge.

A further 1,000 properties are to be evacuated in affected areas in Suffolk and some residents in Jaywick, near Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, are also being urged to leave their homes.

(Below) Lifeboats ferried people to safety in Rhyl

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