WORCESTERSHIRE residents are braced for flooding as the Environment Agency (EA) has said it is "closely monitoring" the river Severn after Storm Gerrit.
Heavy rain, torrential at times, battered Worcestershire throughout Wednesday, (December 28), as a result of the storm that has caused major disruption nationally.
The level has been rising fast on the river Severn leading to a warning of flooding being expected at Court Meadow, Kempsey and Callow End.
For the rest of the county the agency issued an alert that flooding is now possible on the River Severn and the River Avon.
The storm began to cause disruption yesterday as New Street, Upton; Stocks Lane, Newlands and Bransford Court Lane, Bransford all were closed.
Meanwhile, at Severnside South, Bewdley, the road was closed while an Environment Agency field team erected flood barriers due to rising river levels there.
Roads where there has been standing water include the A38 near Droitwich; the Whittington Road/A4440 roundabout and Moseley Road near Hallow.
And a tree partially came down in a flooded section of Hindlip Lane, Worcester.
Emergency services have been warning drivers to slow down, increase distances and avoid driving through floodwater.
The flood warning says: "Flooding is expected - immediate action required.
"River levels are rising at the Kempsey Yacht Club river gauge as a result of heavy rainfall.
"We are closely monitoring the situation. Our incident response staff are checking defences."
The alert says: "Flooding is possible - be prepared.
"Flooding of roads and farmland is possible.
The @EnvAgencyMids #Worcestershire field team are out deploying #Bewdley #Severnside Phase 2 of the demountable barriers this morning ahead of rising River levels and further unsettled weather forecast #TeamEA @WorcsTravel @WyreForestDC pic.twitter.com/Vy0kPV4VNA
— Barry Killner (@BarryKillnerEA) December 28, 2023
"We expect flooding to affect low-lying land and roads adjacent the river from Highley to Tewkesbury.
"Locations affected are Stourport, Holt Fleet, Worcester, Kempsey, Severn Stoke and Upton upon Severn."
The Met Office is forecasting more rain in the coming days - particularly Saturday when heavy rain is expected.
Nationally Storm Gerrit has been causing chaos.
A "localised tornado” caused significant damage to properties in Greater Manchester, flights were cancelled while some homes lost power.
The Lake District recorded 80mm of rain – nearly half the usual 178mm monthly rainfall for December.
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