Floods alert failed Northumberland, MPs told

Oct 22 2008 by William Green, The Journal

THE flood warning system failed Northumberland residents, despite officials knowing heavy rainfall posed a risk some days before the devastating deluge hit last month, it has emerged.

Environment Minister Jane Kennedy said no warning was issued for Rothbury – one of the worst-hit areas – during the events of September 6 because the system did not work due to technical limitations.

She added that the severe rainfall that caused the flooding, which also affected Morpeth and Ponteland, was first identified as a potential threat a number of days before the event as a substantial weather system was tracked.

The admissions came in a Commons debate about the flooding arranged by Berwick MP Sir Alan Beith who said many communities had been affected with some residents unable to return to their normal lives for a year.

The Liberal Democrat MP said: “There were clearly failings in the Environment Agency’s warning system. A specific failing affected householders in one part of Morpeth town centre, who did not get the warnings issued elsewhere.

“At Rothbury, the warning system failed, apparently because the gauge was on the Usway burn and it did not rise rapidly owing to the rain falling on a surprisingly narrow section of the Upper Coquet catchment.

“A man in Warkworth who rang the Environment Agency because of floodwater rising in his house was told that there was no warning in place for his area.

“All those defects in the warning system can and should be remedied urgently, and that will not involve huge expense or difficulty.

“Warnings would not have prevented the floods, but they would have assisted the rescue operations and enabled some people to move particularly treasured possessions to safety.

“Alnwick district council would have moved vehicles from its yard at Rothbury – they were wrecked.”

He also wants a full investigation into why the system failed for Rothbury amid concerns that the key gauge was not set at an appropriate level to detect flooding risk.

Speaking after the debate, Sir Alan said: “The Minister for the Environment spent far too much time telling us where flood defences had worked and not enough time on what could be done here in Northumberland.

“Although she left the door open for increasing the level of financial support for our local councils for their uninsured losses, she gave no assurance that they would be able to recover 100% of these costs, which was the support given to councils in other parts of the country affected by flooding in 2007.”

Ms Kennedy, who is from the North East, said the events were very serious and she had nothing but sympathy for families who homes and businesses were affected by the flooding.

She added: “The severe rainfall that caused the flooding was first identified as a potential threat a number of days before the event, as a substantial low-pressure system was identified tracking towards Europe from the Atlantic.

“By Wednesday, September 3, the Environment Agency and Met Office began detailed modelling to accurately track the low-pressure system and to predict potential rainfall amounts.

“By Thursday the Environment Agency alert status was raised to heightened and the regional Government offices and local resilience forums were contacted by Defra and advised to begin preparations in case of serious flooding.”

Speaking to Sir Alan, she said: “The Right Hon Gentleman complained that the flood warning for Rothbury was not issued by the Environment Agency during the events of September 6, and I acknowledge that the system did not work.

“I understand that that was due to limitations in its infrastructure network in terms of river level gauging.

“Clearly, lessons will need to be learned; they always do when an incident of such seriousness and of such a nature occurs.

“The agency is aware of the issue and is looking to improve the flood warning service for Rothbury.”

Reopening date

BARCLAYS Bank will reopen its flood-hit branch in Morpeth town centre on Monday.

The Bridge Street branch, which has been closed since the September 6 event, has undergone an extensive refurbishment to put right the damage.

Manager Nikki Renton said: "We are delighted that we will be able to resume business as usual next week and apologise for any inconvenience the forced closure caused our customers."