Forecasters warned of more heavy rain in south west England and further flooding on the Somerset Levels yesterday.

The Met Office later yesterday issued an amber warning of severe weather for the south west and the Environment Agency has issued more than 100 flood alerts and 10 more serious flood warnings in the region, which mean flooding was expected overnight and immediate action was required.

Somerset County Council declared a “major incident” for all areas affected by flooding in the county.

Deputy chief executive Pat Flaherty said: “Our priority has to be to keep people safe. We are doing everything we can to do this and we believe that declaring a major incident shows just how urgent the situation is for many of our residents and communities.”

Further heavy rain forecast for today through to tomorrow

The county council will continue its help and support for people affected by flooding which includes a boat service for the cut-off community of Muchelney and Thorney, providing a pontoon bridge at Langport, supporting farmers providing a vital tractor service to communities, keeping roads open and evacuating residents when necessary.

Sedgemoor District Council has also declared a “major incident” on the Somerset Levels.

Many communities are still coming to terms with the flooding that hit Somerset at the beginning of January and now face further problems.

The chief forecaster for the Met Office said: “More heavy rain will spread east across the area on Sunday. Given the current disruption on the Somerset Levels, the public should be prepared for further flooding.”

They added that rain across the UK would be accompanied by strong winds, and rainfall accumulations of 10 to 20mm were expected.

The Environment Agency said that communities across southern England should again prepare for possible flooding as the Met Office forecasts further heavy rain for today through to tomorrow.

A spokeswoman said: “With the ground already saturated, rivers and groundwater levels remain very responsive to rainfall, particularly on the Somerset Levels.

“Environment Agency teams continue to operate up to 62 pumps 24 hours a day to drain an estimated 65 million cubic metres of floodwater off an area of the Levels spanning 65 square kilometres.”

There is also potential for further river flooding across the south west and southern counties.

The risk of flooding from groundwater continues in parts of Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, West Berkshire and Surrey into this week.

On Saturday, strong winds caused damage to houses and forced residents to be evacuated from a street in a Warwickshire town. Bricks and roof tiles were dislodged from houses in Hickman Road, Nuneaton, as high winds hit the area.

Many people dialled 999 as the storm swept through the street but nobody was hurt, Warwickshire Police said.

Several residents were given shelter in the local community hall.

Elsewhere in the county the emergency services and the highways agency have been working with local councils to deal with a number of other storm related incidents including trees which had been brought down by the strong winds, and flooded roads as a result of the heavy rain.

Avon and Somerset Police launched their underwater search team yesterday in a bid to use their boat to reach flood-hit homes in Mulcheney on Somerset Levels.

The team also gave fire prevention and health and safety advice to residents who have been affected by the floods.

Much of the area remains under water and more rain was expected to fall overnight and residents were being told to prepare for further flooding.

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