Residents of Northern England 'anxious' as winter flood threat looms

By Jillian MacMath, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

November 13,2016; 6:50PM,EST

 

 

As the threat for damaging flooding looms over Northern England again this winter, storm-wary residents are on edge.
The winter of 2015-2016 brought devastation to the region.
Record-breaking rainfall totals caused severe flooding in Cumbria, leading to the declaration of a major incident.
In total, 5,264 families were made homeless by last December's flooding, according to the Cumbria Community Foundation.
Of those, nearly one year later, 775 households are still unable to return home.
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"Many people are feeling anxious, especially as we head into winter and [have] the fear of being flooded again," Cumbria Community Foundation Communications Officer Annalee Holliday told AccuWeather.
The organization has raised more than £10 million to help those financially affected by the floods.
"Several applicants to the Cumbria Flood Recovery Appeal have cited they would not be able to cope should they be flooded again," Holliday said.
But as winter looms, Northern England is once again in the area of greatest risk for flooding.
"Heavy rainfall will accompany many storm systems over the course of the season," AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys said.
"December and February look to be the months that could see heavier precipitation amounts" he said.

AccuWeather forecasters are predicting for 15-18 named storms across the United Kingdom through April 2017.
According to the National Flood Resilience Review, released in early September, £12.5 million is being invested on new temporary flood defenses such as barriers and high volume pumps at seven strategic locations around the country.
According to Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom: "Last winter we saw just how devastating flooding can be. This review sets out clear actions so we are better prepared to respond quickly in the event of future flooding and can strengthen the nation's flood defenses."
This winter, the Environment Agency is set to have four times more temporary barriers than during the winter of 2015-2016.
Though it's too soon to say how disruptive potential flooding might be this winter, AccuWeather meteorologists do not expect it to be as severe as last year.
"Following last year's devastation, however, you shouldn't let your guard down," Roys said.