WIREDGOV

Update on current flooding situation and how the government is responding.

The Environment Agency, emergency responders and local authorities are helping to protect people and properties following the flooding in:

• Yorkshire
• Derbyshire
• Nottinghamshire
• Lincolnshire

River levels in the River Don around Doncaster remain high and flood warnings, meaning there is still a risk of flooding, remain in place.

Approximately 14,400 properties have been protected by flood defences, including nearly 5,000 properties in South Yorkshire. Sadly, over 800 properties have been affected by floods and people have been evacuated from properties in Bentley and Fishlake in Doncaster.

What you need to do

Communities are urged to continue to:

• check for flood warnings
• follow the advice of the emergency services
• avoid driving or walking through flood water

Further rain is forecast for today and tomorrow which could bring further severe water and river flooding to those areas already affected by floods and cause flooding in other parts of the country.

How we are responding

Over 300 EA staff are working 24/7 around the country. Our incident rooms are open and we are working with the military to put up temporary flood barriers and move sandbags to areas across South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

We have also deployed 39 pumps across five locations to pump away water as soon as water levels allow.

In Fishlake, five ultra-high volume pumps are fully operational and pumping out 16 cubic metres of water per second. Environment Agency teams have now deployed more than 2,200 sandbags in affected areas.

We are working closely with partners including local authorities, Defra and the military to support the cross-government effort.

Cross-government support – announcements

The Government announced on 12 November 2019 further support for people and businesses in areas affected by recent flooding.

An additional 100 UK Armed Forces personnel will also be deployed to South Yorkshire to help support the recovery effort.

Under the Flood Recovery Framework, the Government will provide funding to support the recovery efforts of local councils where households and businesses have been affected by the severe weather.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will provide a Community Recovery Grant to local councils – equivalent to £500 per eligible household - to help communities with their immediate recovery.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will provide funding for a Business Recovery Grant. This will provide up to £2,500 per eligible small and medium-sized business which has suffered severe impacts from the floods that cannot be recovered from insurance.

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