New Darwen Flood Alert service available to residents and businesses

The Environment Agency are offering a new flood warning service to Lancashire including Upper River Darwen at Darwen including Radford, Sough and Spring Vale neighbourhoods.

The new free flood warnings came into effect this month, covering hundreds of properties.

As part of the Flood Warning Expansion Project, new flood warning areas have been added in Darwen on the Upper River Darwen.

Flood warnings give people valuable information and time to prepare for flooding, and the EA’s free service enables residents to choose how they’d like to receive warnings and alerts. Although some residents will be enrolled automatically through their telephone provider, they can sign up fully by online or by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188. People can also make a flood plan here so they know what to do to prepare, act and survive.

Flood and Coastal Erosion Investment Plan

The delivery of the new schemes follows the successful delivery of the previous programme.

The government invested £2.6 billion in new flood defences through this programme – surpassing its target of better protecting 300,000 homes between 2015 and 2021.

The new schemes will be an important part of the implementation of the government’s Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Policy Statement and the Environment Agency’s Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategy

Why do we need flood warnings?

Flood Warnings tell people about an imminent risk of flooding to their home or business and helps people make informed decisions about how to respond. There are three types of warning – Flood Alert, Flood Warning and Severe Flood Warning.

Householders are encouraged to prepare if they receive a Flood Alert which could mean packing a bag that includes medicines, insurance documents and anything else they wouldn’t want to lose if flooding were to take place. A Flood Warning calls on people to act now which means turning off gas, water and electricity and moving family and pets to safety. A Severe Flood Warning means you are in immediate danger and to follow advice from emergency services.

Blackburn with Darwen’s Councillor Jim Shorrock is a member of the Flood Risk Management Team, he said:

Whether you live on a hill, in a flat or in an area that’s never flooded before, flooding can still affect you, putting your home, your possessions and your family at risk. We know the devastating impact that it can have, which is why we are making our communities even more resilient through our free flood warning service.

Knowing what to do in a flood could help keep you and your family safe, and save you thousands of pounds in damages and disruption. I would encourage everyone to sign up for flood warnings and prepare a plan in advance so you know what to do should the worst happen.

Additional funding from the Government has enabled the Environment Agency to invest in the latest technology and infrastructure needed to provide a flood warning service in Lancashire and over 200 other communities across England.

This latest expansion comes after a new service was delivered last year in catchments covering Lancashire including Blackburn at the Cob Wall and Brookhouse areas, as well as Whitebirk and Green Bank and Wennington, River Lune at Caton and the River Douglas at Worthington.

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