DEFRA - UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

01/01/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/01/2025 12:10

Environment Agency urges caution following rain over New Year

News story

Environment Agency urges caution following rain over New Year

The Environment Agency has urged people to stay vigilant to the risk of flooding and stay away from swollen rivers.

From: Environment Agency, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Emma Hardy MP Published 1 January 2025 Last updated 1 January 2025 - See all updates

The Environment Agency has urged people to stay vigilant to the risk of flooding and stay away from swollen rivers.

Those travelling following New Year celebrations are urged to stay away from swollen rivers, with significant river flooding impacts possible in parts of North West England today (Wednesday 1 January).

The Environment Agency estimates that more than 17,000 properties have been protected (as of 18:00 on 1 January), with that figure likely to increase.

Floods Minister Emma Hardy has today met with staff from the Environment Agency to discuss the response to the heavy rain and flooding, and to ensure that communities are kept safe and receive the support they need.

The Environment Agency continues to monitor the forecast and impacts on river levels. Its message to the public remains to check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation.

Ben Lukey, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

Heavy and persistent rain from last night into this morning means river levels will remain high across parts of the North of England until Thursday, with significant inland flooding possible today and minor impacts probable in places on Thursday.

Environment Agency teams will be out on the ground, operating flood defences, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding, issuing flood warnings and supporting those communities affected.

We advise anyone travelling or out celebrating the New Year to be especially careful and urge people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.

People should search 'check my flood risk', sign up for free flood warnings, and keep up to date with the latest situation at @EnvAgency on X.

Floods Minister Emma Hardy said:

My thoughts are with the people, businesses and communities impacted by flooding, particularly those in and around Greater Manchester.

I have met with officials from the Environment Agency today to ensure that impacted communities are receiving the necessary support and I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe.

The Government is working at pace to accelerate the building of flood defences through our new Floods Resilience Taskforce, so we can continue to protect people and their homes.

Lessons learned from these floods will be fed directly into the new Floods Resilience Taskforce to speed up the development of flood defences and bolster the nation's resilience to extreme weather.

The Taskforce brings together the Secretary of State and Minister Hardy with representatives from Defra, MHCLG, Home Office, Cabinet Office, the Environment Agency, the Met Office, Local Resilience Forums, Mayoral Offices, emergency responders and the National Farmers Union, among others.

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Updates to this page

Published 1 January 2025
Last updated 1 January 2025 + show all updates
  1. 1 January 2025

    Situational update for 1 January.

  2. 1 January 2025

    First published.