Environment Agency reassures Suffolk amid wet winter warning

The Met Office has said some areas of the country have already seen 100% of their average September rainfall and, according to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the 18 months to February 2024 were the wettest on record. 

Last autumn, Storm Babet and Storm Ciaran devastated Suffolk - with 85 properties damaged in Needham Market and Wickham Market alone and Framlingham and Debenham also badly hit. 

Wickham Market flooding during last year's storms (Image: Newsquest)

The EA has reassured residents that it has been working on "repairing and enhancing" flood defences throughout the year in partnership with other public bodies in Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex. 

An EA spokesperson said: "We have also improved our emergency response arrangements, allowing us to react much faster should a flood occur, with more personnel on the ground and improvements to the flood warning system so that we can warn those at flood risk more accurately.

"The majority of improvements are complete, but we will continue to do everything we can to reduce the risk of flooding across Norfolk and Suffolk."

They said in Norfolk, much work has been done to repair the banks of the Broadland rivers which overtopped last winter.

“A winter can be wetter than average without experiencing anything close to the flooding impacts we saw last Autumn. However, it is always better for individuals at risk to be prepared for flooding," they said.

"You can check your flood risk via the Gov.uk pages on the internet. If appropriate, sign up for our free flood warning service, and see the ways that you can reduce flood impacts." 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Suffolk County Council said: "The management of flood risk across the county remains a priority for the county council alongside landowners, communities, and partner organisations.

"A great deal of work is carried out to understand where flooding occurs, who is responsible and what steps can be taken to reduce the risk going forward.

Flooding in Needham Market (Image: Charlotte Bond)

"This is often a complex process involving many different parties that all need to play a role. Since Storm Babet - the worst flood event to hit Suffolk since 1953 - the council has invested £1million to support investigations into the worst impacted communities.

"The reports from these investigations include detailed recommendations to consider for property owners, communities, landowners as well as responsible organisations like the Environment Agency, Water Companies and the Highway Authority.

"To help reduce the risk of flooding we support the local planning authorities with expert advice to ensure new developments are built with surface water drainage systems.

"We also invest in other projects to reduce flood risk, which range from fitting flood doors and non-return valves to individual houses, maintaining and improving highway drainage; to constructing flood storage areas in partnership with landowners."

Flooding in Needham Market last year (Image: Charlotte Bond)

A new Floods Resilience Taskforce met on Thursday to discuss how to speed up and co-ordinate flooding preparation and resilience between central government, local authorities and community responders, and emergency services.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed (Image: Yui Mok/PA)

The taskforce brought together Environment Secretary Steve Reed, floods minister Emma Hardy, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Home Office, Cabinet Office, the EA, the Met Office, local resilience forums, mayoral offices, emergency responders and the National Farmers Union.

Floods minister Emma Hardy (Image: PA)

The next meeting of this taskforce will take place in early 2025 and will discuss longer-term oversight of wider flood resilience strategy and investment, as well as any learnings on the response to major flooding.