Flood defences 'in worst state on record'

Flood defences are in the lowest state of repair since records began as the country heads into another wet autumn, a minister has said.

Emma Hardy, the floods minister, described the situation as "extremely worrying" after the wettest 18 months on record in England.

Her warning comes as the Environment Agency (EA) launches a week of action to coincide with the anniversary of Storm Babet, when 2,150 homes were flooded nationwide.

One victim, who is still living in a caravan in the driveway of her Lincolnshire home, said she felt forgotten about and feared further flooding in the weeks ahead.

Phoenix and David Graham were forced out of their home in the village of Ruskington, as Storm Babet brought devastating flooding to communities across the UK in October 2023.

The three-day period of the storm was the third wettest in England and Wales since 1891, according to the Met Office.

The Grahams' home is just yards from Ruskington Beck. It is normally a tiny stream, but last October brought more than 3ft (1m) of floodwater into homes in the village.

Mr Graham described the issue of flooding as a "national crisis".

"At the end of the day it's costing the country, the government and everyone fortunes," he said.

"England is an island and it needs a drainage system putting in that's fit for purpose."

The couple are facing the prospect of a second Christmas out of their home.

Building work still to be completed includes raising the floor and converting an area of the loft into a bolthole, in case it floods again.

Mrs Graham said living inside the caravan was like "being in a drum" when it rained.

"I dread the rain now," she said. "You hear it beating on the ceiling and you just think, 'here we go again'."

About 5.5 million properties in England are at risk from flooding according to the EA.

Last winter, 5,000 were flooded after Storm Babet was followed in quick succession by storms Ciaran and Henk – though the EA said a further 250,000 were protected by defences during those incidents.

Hardy has formed a Floods Resilience Taskforce, a group bringing together local and national government expertise to coordinate flood preparation and resilience.

She said she was investing millions to "turbocharge" improvements to defences.

"Our critical flood defence assets are at their lowest point," she added.

"We're working on repairs. We've got millions of pounds going in to try to fix as many as possible.

"The Environment Agency are looking at deploying mobile assets, but this is not an inheritance that anyone wanted."

The EA has increased spending on flood defence maintenance and repair to £236m, up from £200m in the past year.

It said it had carried out 216,000 checks since last winter, focusing on the areas of highest risk.

Pumps have been pre-emptively deployed at seven "strategic depots" in vulnerable regions around the country.

But the stark nature of the challenge was highlighted last month when almost 1,000 properties flooded after heavy rain battered parts of England and Wales.

Caroline Douglass, EA executive director of flood and coastal risk management, said the country had seen an "unusually wet September".

She urged homeowners to sign up to flood warnings as part of Flood Action Week, which runs until Sunday.

“We can’t always predict where the rain will fall or where flooding will occur, but we do know which areas are at risk," she added.

Last winter, 876 properties were flooded during storms in Lincolnshire, according to the county council.

Parts of Horncastle, including almost 200 homes and businesses, were submerged during Storm Babet.

Josie Field and her husband Tony were devastated when their bungalow flooded. They were forced to throw away "skip-loads" of damaged possessions and are still living in a caravan.

Mrs Field said the past year had been "hell", adding: "We're bouncing between insurance companies. It really has affected our health.

"I don't think we have had a day without thinking about what's going to happen.

"Are we ever going to get back into our home? We're looking at the weather all the time."

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