Missing Environment Agency flood information 'could cost lives'

A lack of information from a government agency about river levels could risk lives and livelihoods, critics say.

Flooding is continuing to cause disruption across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire, with dozens of flood warnings in place.

But there are concerns the advice has become less detailed than normal, leaving residents unsure of the situation.

The EA said it was committed to safeguarding the flood warning service.

It said it had also temporarily automated flood warning messages due to industrial action by staff, and pointed the public to its social media rather than website for the latest information.

One farmer, however, said real-time updates over river peaks had been lost in the mix, meaning landowners were unable to anticipate what was coming and properly prepare.

And Worcester campaigner Mary Long-Dhonau claimed the situation was potentially even more grave, and queried the extent to which industrial action - work-to-rule by members of the Unison and Prospect unions - had any bearing on the EA's switch to automation.

"At the very worst case scenario, and I don't want to be too dramatic, people could lose their lives, not knowing how deep flood water is going to get," Ms Long-Dhonau said.

Complaining the public was "not getting accurate warnings", the former chair of campaign group National Flood Forum said she normally worked in partnership with the EA, adding some local staff had been "brilliant" in trying to warn households at risk.

"But what I have a problem with," she said, "is whoever at a senior level in the Environment Agency took the decision to only provide an automated service during this time, didn't realise how important the information is."

There were about 80 EA flood warnings in place across England on Friday, including a swathe in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire.

According to the EA, warnings and alerts were continuing on its website and also being shared on social media, but further detail including river peaks and expected times of peaks were currently only available on social platforms.

Clare Dinniss, EA director for the West Midlands, said the public was "getting the same information but just through a different route".

But Ally Hunter Blair, who farms near Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, said he was missing gauge information from measuring stations along the river to know how much his land would suffer.

He said a map tweeted by the EA "hadn't been updated for 14 hours" despite normally getting revised "as and when the situation changes". He added it was "ridiculous" more detailed information was unavailable.

The farmer told the BBC: "If [the river] peaks at 4.1m for example, I know that only half the fields will be underwater, but if it's 4.4m, the whole lot's going to be underwater, so suddenly a couple of centimetres or a foot makes all that difference.

"Farmers up and down the river require that information. It's all guesswork at the moment."

The working to rule by union members comes ahead of a planned walkout later this month over pay, with the current action seeing staff carrying out no overtime or work during breaks.

While Unison would not be drawn on whether flood updates may have previously occurred during such periods, its head of environment, Donna Rowe-Merriman, criticised the use of automated alerts, citing "serious risks" to safety.

Amid forecasts of more wet weather, she said the expertise of EA workers was "crucial in keeping communities safe and triggering the correct response".

"Rather than look for flimsy fixes, the Agency should focus on filling the huge vacancies in its workforce and giving staff a decent pay rise."

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