Somerset Levels locals fear repeat of 2014 floods

People living on the Somerset Levels say they fear a repeat of 2014's floods, following weeks of heavy rain.

The Environment Agency (EA) declared a major incident on Wednesday, with many hectares of farmland underwater.

In the major floods of 2014 some villages were cut off and residents forced to evacuate.

Floodwater Somerset Levels is now receding in places after pumps were brought in to help clear it, the Environment Agency says.

Some farmers claim that this time the water has risen faster, leaving residents worried their homes and businesses could be destroyed again.

Lincoln Hall, a farmer in Fordgate, said the flooding "makes you think about what happened in 2014 and is it going to happen again?"

"I don't think people understand when your house floods and you haven't got time to move stuff, you lose a lifetime of memories - photos, lots of pictures you can never replace.

"There's no money that can bring that back," Mr Hall added.

James Winslade, who has a farm near Burrowbridge, said he felt pumps to help the area cope with the water should have been provided sooner.

"What we didn't realise is that it takes seven to 10 days for the paperwork and everything to be deployed [for the pumps].

"In 2014 the water took a month and a bit to get to this point. This time around it's taken six days," he said.

Mr Winslade continued: "It would have been nice to have (the pumps) here earlier. With global warming potentially this is going to happen more often."

Kate Symonds, a flood warden for Moorland and Fordgate, said the water levels brought back memories of the 2014 floods.

"A major incident isn't going to make a great deal of difference to people in the village - they are already seeing water on the fields behind their houses and that has been there for quite a few days." she said.

"It's an instant reminder of how it was in 2014 and how they felt at the time.

"It will bring it all back and I'm really sorry about it," she added.

Ian Withers, from the EA, said it was unlikely that the Levels would see a repeat of 2014.

He said the pumping operation combined with drier weather was causing water levels to recede.

Mr Withers said that seven properties had been flooded, mainly commercial premises and isolated farm buildings, and that the pumping response at Northmoor had prevented more than 100 properties from flooding in Moorland.

"We've had some very wet weeks in Somerset and very low lying land and the pumping station is now working really hard to get that water under control," he said.

Mr Withers said declaring the situation a major incident was about getting on top of it and the risk to communities has not changed.

Although EA say the situation is improving, the major incident alert is expected to stay in place over the weekend and reviewed early next week.

He said: "All the people who need to respond to this incident; local authorities, the government, the military are all on the same page ready to work, ready to step into action if it worsens.

"For the first time in many days, the rivers are lower, the rivers aren't overflowing into the moors and we're able to pump water into those rivers and that's really good news."

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