Bournemouth Council is on standby following a severe flood warning put in place forChristchurch Harbour, which could affect properties in the Wick area of Bournemouth and may cause further impact further up the River Stour including Iford.
The severe flood warning is in place until Saturday morning (15 Feb) with a high tide at 10.45am at Christchurch Harbour, but there is the potential risk of flooding in the area before this time.
Council staff teams are currently carrying out a leaflet drop of all homes that are most at flood risk in the Wick and Iford areas. The Council will continue to liaise throughout the weekend with the Environment Agency and the emergency services and will monitor the situation taking further action where necessary.
Council staff are on standby, including social care, housing, highways and parks in case further action is required should the situation worsen. Rest centres are ready to be set up if residents evacuate from their homes and need somewhere warm to make further contingency plans and get advice.
In addition, staff across all Council services are being redeployed as necessary and will remain on standby throughout the weekend to help with clearing away debris, gully clearing and attend to fallen trees across the whole of the Borough. The authority has a number of tractors, chainsaws and heavy duty equipment to help with any clear up operations.
Residents are advised to avoid the areas that are at high risk of flooding due to a severe flood warning from the Environment Agency which includes Wick, Iford, Christchurch Harbour and Bournemouth beach.
For further updates about flood risk visit the Environment Agency website: www.environment-agency.gov.uk
People are also being advised to take extra care along cliffs and beaches. Landslides often take place after wet weather as there is a delay between the rainwater falling and soaking into the ground. With the continuing wet weather more landslides are expected.
Tony Williams, Chief Executive atBournemouth Borough Council, said:
“With weather in Bournemouth predicted to continue to be very stormy overnight and into the weekend we urge residents to take extra care and allow more time for travelling.
“We have dedicated teams of council staff working closely with emergency services, agency partners and the Environment Agency to deal with any incidents that may affect our residents. From Emergency Planning through Street Services, Social Services, Housing, Seafront, Environmental Health, Building Control to Building Maintenance, there are hundreds of council workers who could be mobilised with well-rehearsed procedures in place in case of any emergencies. If anyone knows of any incidents such as trees fallings, flooding on the road, blocked drains or road diversions please do call us on 01202 451451.”
