This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

Heavy rain over the weekend could bring further flooding in northern England and the Midlands, the Environment Agency has warned.

England had so far received 141% of its average February rainfall with almost continuous wet weather in the past fortnight, the agency reported. It said the deluges were set to continue into next week.

“Ongoing river flooding remains probable for the River Severn on Monday and Tuesday,” a spokesman said.

On Friday, Caroline Douglass, the EA’s director of incident management, said: “Flooding has a long-lasting and devastating impact on people’s lives, and our thoughts remain with all those who have been flooded and continue to feel the impacts of the persistent wet weather.

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“Further spells of rain in northern England from today and into the weekend, which are also expected into next week, could cause further flooding, particularly across the Pennines and parts of northern England, York and the Midlands. Ongoing river flooding remains probable for the River Severn next week as it responds to heavy rainfall.

“This will be the third weekend of exceptional river levels and stormy weather. With the effects of climate change, we need to prepare for more frequent periods of extreme weather like this.

“People need to be aware of their flood risk, sign up to flood warnings, make a flood plan and not drive or walk through flood water.”

The warnings were issued on Friday as large areas of south Wales and the Midlands continued to battle extensive flooding, while clear-up operations started in areas where water levels had fallen.

On Friday afternoon, the EA said there were two severe flood warnings – which mean there is an immediate risk to life – 72 flood warnings and 140 flood alerts across England. There was also one flood warning and three flood alerts in Wales.

The EA said river levels had exceeded existing records with the Colne, Ribble, Calder, Aire, Trent, Severn, Wye, Lugg and Derwent among the many rivers where records were broken.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Flood water surrounds St Michael and All Angels church in Tirley, Gloucestershire. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA

But the agency said that, even with record river levels, the number of homes flooded had been fewer than in other major flood events of the last 20 years.

John Curtin, the EA’s executive director of flood and coastal risk management, tweeted that Storm Ciara left 800 properties flooded and Storm Dennis had affected 600.

Curtin said this compared with 1,200 homes flooded in the north of England at the end of 2019, 17,000 in the 2015 Boxing Day floods, and 55,000 in the floods across the north and Midlands in 2007.

An EA spokesman said its teams had put up more than 3.7 miles (6km) of temporary flood barriers, and that flood defences had protected nearly 25,000 properties from the impact of Storm Dennis, which hit a week ago.

The agency said 1,000 of its staff had been mobilised in the last week, operating flood defences and temporary pumps, clearing debris from rivers, inspecting damaged flood defences and making repairs.

The Met Office warnings for rain for central and south-western Scotland expire on Saturday morning. But fresh yellow warnings have been issued for south Wales on Sunday and the north of England on Monday. There is also a yellow warning for snow and ice across much of Scotland on Saturday.

Honister Pass in Cumbria, one of the wettest areas of the UK annually, recorded 185mm (7.28in) of rain in 36 hours on Thursday. Capel Curig in Snowdonia, north Wales, recorded 86mm of rain in 36 hours after setting Wednesday’s record for rain with 80mm in a single day.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes in the worst-affected areas. A fundraiser launched by the actor Michael Sheen on Wednesday evening has since trebled its initial target of collecting £10,000 for Welsh people affected by Storm Dennis.

In Gloucestershire, a village church that was devastated by the 2007 floods is once again under threat from water. St Michael and All Angels church in Tirley, near Tewkesbury, was badly damaged 13 years ago.

Repair work was designed to minimise flood damage, with stone floors, and movable chairs rather than pews. New drone photographs show how close the water has got to the church, with the flooding affecting nearby farmland.

PA Media contributed to this report