100 day round up of flood recovery in Yorkshire

Yesterday marked 100 days since the floods hit many communities across Yorkshire, the wettest December since records began.

Over the past 100 days, Environment Agency teams have been working to repair the devastation that was caused by the floods that hit many communities across Yorkshire, bringing the wettest December since records began in 1910.

Around £24M has been spent by the Environment Agency, in an around the clock extensive repair programme, including the removal of collapsed bridges along the River Calder, gravel clearance and thousands of inspections.

Around 8,500 flood defences have been assessed, with 900 identified as needing some form of repair. Over 100 have already been completed and a further 300 are currently underway with the aim of getting all complete before the next winter.

As a result of the floods, homes and businesses were damaged. The emergency services, local authorities and volunteers have been helping communities since.

Flood Support Officers have visited more than 150 communities around Yorkshire, identifying what more can be done to reduce the risk of flooding in the future, providing advice and listening to victims of the floods. A further 16,000 properties have been added to the free flood warning service.

Phil Younge, Major Incident Recovery Manager, said: “The floods of December 2015 had a terrible impact on peoples’ lives, homes and businesses across the county. Many residents and businesses are not yet back in their properties.

“The job we have before us, of getting our defences back in a condition they were prior to flooding, is a huge challenge, but our teams are working tirelessly to restore protection to communities.”

The government have recently announced £115M funding to increase flood resilience across the Calder Valley, Leeds and York, in addition to the £265M already invested between now and 2021, to better protect 108,000 properties against flooding and coastal erosion.

Floods Minister Rory Stewart said: “Since that day, Environment Agency teams have worked tirelessly to help communities recover, from upgrading the Foss Barrier to removing tonnes of debris and clearing collapsed buildings and bridges.

“Work on future flood protection for Yorkshire is well underway, looking at placing multi-million pound engineering solutions down-stream, alongside natural flood management measures up stream.”

 

 

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