UK council declares major incident due to near record-breaking flooding as Britons forced to evacuate
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.
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.
A 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 aroudn 11.36am.
“We do expect that he 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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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.
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.
Neil Clarke, Nottinghamshire County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, warned river levels could peak at 5.5metres 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 take 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.
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.