Behind-the-scenes at the Environment Agency

In the relative calm after one of the most challenging storms to hit the South West in 100 years, The Exeter Daily was offered a behind the scenes look at the Environment Agency's (EA) South West Headquarters by Team Leader for Flood Risk Management, George Arnison.

As I passed through the EA's offices, there seemed to be a distinct sense of relief that, for now at least, the rain had stopped and the rivers were receding. And more importantly that one of Devon's key flood defences had held up. Although it felt to Twitter followers on Saturday night that it got very close, with The Prospect Inn doing a sterling job of keeping everyone informed as to exactly how bad the situation was getting, the River Exe did not overtop Exeter’s flood defences despite the amber warning issued by the Met Office.

Other areas surrounding Exeter, however, were not so lucky, and anyone either trying to enter or leave the city were hindered at every turn either by car, train or indeed by bike. Transport links in and out of the city ground to a halt and many minor roads were impassable. The worst hit areas were Cowley Bridge, Dawlish, Buckfastleigh, Cullompton and Kennford, where people's homes were devastated by the sheer speed with which the flood water invaded people's homes. Some will struggle to get insurance for their homes next year, and some are already uninsurable as they live on a floodplain. Meanwhile, people watched live via Twitter as the banks of the Grand Western Canal collapsed at Halberton near Tiverton.

One of the questions on my mind was if any connections had been made to the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy across the Pond, but George told me that he had not heard of any evidence to support this. A more likely factor is the accumulative effect of the excessive rainfall we have had over the summer months since mid-June. In fact, the Met Office have reported that figures for June, July and August show that 370.7 mm of rain fell across the UK, making it the second wettest summer on record since the 384.4 mm of rain seen in the summer of 1912. George said “We’ve had an exceptional, prolonged period of wet weather this year throughout the summer and autumn which has left the ground completely saturated across the county. We then had a series of heavy rainstorms between 19 and 25 November. In those 6 days Dartmoor received over 250mm of rain which is what we would normally expect to get in the whole month. In many respects Exeter was lucky that we didn’t get this level of rainfall over Exmoor - which  feeds the Exe - as well.”

Latest figures show that across England and Wales approximately 1,100 properties have flooded since Wednesday, while flood defences have protected over 51,000 homes. Over 106,000 properties have been sent a flood warning.

However, it was not until we heard the news of the tragic loss of a homeless lady's life, now named as Michelle Conroy, who was hit by a falling tree in the storms, that the seriousness of the situation was brought home to people. The EA can't do anything about poor Michelle's fate, but they can inform and warn of trouble areas, so the general public can make informed decisions as to the course of action to take.

George tells me that they inform the general public of impending flooding in many different ways, working in conjunction with a number of other organizations: the police, the MET Office and local media outlets such as The Exeter Daily. However, it is the hard work of its staff that provided constantly updated information to people about the potential threat (or lack of) to their homes.

With the dramatic pictures of the South West floods filtering through to London, Environment minister Owen Paterson paid a visit to Exeter saying, "I would ask everyone to work together, and with the Environment Agency, look at their website. I am worried some of these terrible tragedies could have been avoided if people had kept themselves up to date with the information we're putting out."

And that is exactly the message coming from George Arnison, "The best piece of advice that the Environment Agency can offer people who are concerned about flooding is to 'Be Prepared!': The first thing is to find out whether you are in a flood risk area. You can do this either by looking on our website ( HYPERLINK "http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk" www.environment-agency.gov.uk) or by calling our Floodline number (0845 988 1188).

If you find that you are at risk, there are lots of practical steps you can take. Probably the most important is to sign up (via our website or Floodline) for our free Flood-Warnings Direct service where this is available. This sends you a direct message when flooding is expected and may affect your property. Flood warnings will give you time to prepare for flooding - for example by driving your car to high ground or moving your valuables and documents upstairs, all of  which could save you time, money and heartache”. 

Another key area of operation for the EA is maintenance of the South West's current flood defences and assessment of what needs to be done in the future. The Environment Agency’s workforce work around the clock during wet weather preparing and operating their flood defences, clearing screens and helping communities and the local authorities with pumping and sand-bagging wherever they can.

Exeter's current flood defences worked this time, but George told The Exeter Daily, "We are working on plans to improve the existing scheme as some of the defences are 40 years old and the standard of protection they offer is not that high. However these improvements do not come cheaply and we need to raise around  £25 million to put them in place. We have already raised, with the help of Devon County Council and Exeter City Council, £6 million, and £13 million from a national grant that the scheme is expected to attract, however it is unclear as to where the remaining £6m shortfall will come from. Nevertheless, this gives us the confidence to at least continue working on our plans, and recent events have certainly added to our sense of urgency."

Following a tweet from Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw that said "If any other part of Britain was cut off by flooding (everything SW of Taunton) it would be on the national news! #Exeter" the news sure enough did spread and David Cameron flew in by helicopter to meet householders in the village of Buckfastleigh which was struck by flash flooding. Secretary of State for the Environment, Owen Patterson also visited Exeter and Kennford this week to see the effect of the flooding for himself.

Cameron said: "It is obviously very traumatic when communities are hit by flooding like this, but what I found is people are incredibly steadfast and have behaved incredibly bravely at handling the flood and now we need to help them with the recovery.

"We have to make sure their insurance pays out, make sure the Environment Agency puts in place good flood defences, make sure there are better warning schemes. There are always lessons to learn and I wanted to come here and hear it for myself."

If you do live in an area likely to flood on a regular basis, you can take the matter into your own hands by fitting flood protection products, which will help keep water out of your property during a flood.  Some products can be fitted in seconds without any tools, while others require structural alterations. For a guide to flood protection products on the market visit http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/113219.aspx.

Those in areas at risk should check the Environment Agency website for the latest information and sign up for free flood warnings on the Environment Agency’s website or by calling the Environment Agency Flood Line on 0845 988 1188.

Photos courtesy of The Environment Agency.

Update: The Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced on Friday that the UK is to get a boost of £120 million in new funding to speed up the delivery of flood defences, which could protect up to 60,000 homes and deliver up to £1 billion of economic benefits. For more information on this story visit http://www.theexeterdaily.co.uk/news/local-news/council-welcomes-extra-funding-flood-defence.