A local council has declared a major incident after widespread flooding caused by Storm Henk.
Nottinghamshire County Council warned peaks of the River Trent could come close to the highest on record since 2000, while Britons in multiple areas of the country are being evacuated by emergency services.
A number of roads have been closed and flood alerts remain in place after the council’s tactical co-ordination group met today.
Firefighters have also rushed to evacuate a static residential park in Radcliffe.
UK council declares major incident due to near record-breaking flooding as Britons forced to evacuateJoseph Raynor/Nottingham PostA spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue confirmed some evacuations are already underway.
They said: “It was five properties involved in the flooding.
“We have evacuated a number of people from those homes.
“They are with neighbours at the moment. We have left the scene around 11.36am.
“We do expect that the water will rise over the next 12 hours.
“We have advised residents about what to do in that eventuality.”
A number of people expressed their concern about the situation at Radcliffe Residential Park.
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A number of flood alerts have been issued in Nottinghamshire
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
Jill Whitworth, 67, told The Nottingham Post: “I’ve never seen it like this.
“It only got up to the second home yesterday and when I got up this morning it was like this.
“I’m not worried because I’m high up on stilts, I would be if I lived further down.”
Despite being concerned John Himsworth defiantly vowed not to leave the site, adding: “We won’t move, we love it here.”
An elderly resident with dementia was reportedly among those taken to safety, footage shared on social media has shown.
Video footage shows the resident lying down on a rubber boat and being transported across the water by the emergency services.
A number of tributaries which feed the River Trent all reached their peaks, including the River Derwent, the River Soar and the River Dove.
The A6097 at Compton Acres and the A617 at Kelham will also remain closed due to flooding.
Storm Henk led to a major incident in Nottinghamshire
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
Neil Clarke, Nottinghamshire County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, warned river levels could peak at 5.5 metres in Radcliffe later today.
He said: “I think at the moment they (Environment Agency) seem to be anticipating 5.5m, which is the same level as in November 2000 when the last really bad flooding took place.”
A total of 35 flood warnings have been issued across Nottinghamshire.
England’s Environment Agency confirmed the nation faces 216 flood warnings and a further 278 flood alerts.
Evacuations are already underway in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire after residents experienced the worst flooding in 16 years.
Two additional flood warnings have been put out in Scotland.
Wales is the only part of Britain facing a severe flood warning, with one extra flood warning and 14 flood alerts.
UK council declares major incident due to near record-breaking flooding as Britons forced to evacuateJoseph Raynor/Nottingham Post
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