Three severe flood warnings in place for Dorset

The Environment Agency (EA) last night issued two further severe warnings for flooding along the Dorset Coast.

In addition to the severe flood warning already in place for Iford Bridge Home Park on the Lower River Stour in Bournemouth, the EA is warning people along the coast at Preston Beach in the Lodmore area of Weymouth and the Chiswell area near Portland Harbour to expect coastal flooding.

A severe flood warning is the highest level of warnings, and means there is danger to life.

In addition to the three severe flood warnings, there are also 119 flood warnings in force, the majority of these across the south east and south west, and more than 213 flood alerts.

EA flood risk manager Paul Mustow said: “The risk of flooding continues this week, with communities in the south west and south east urged to be particularly vigilant.

“Environment Agency teams have again been out in force over the weekend checking and maintaining flood defences, clearing blockages in watercourses, deploying temporary defences and monitoring water levels and will continue to work around the clock to protect communities at risk.

“We would ask people to be prepared by checking their flood risk, signing up to free flood warnings and keeping an eye on the latest flood updates via the EA website and Twitter using #floodaware.”

Most recent estimates suggest that about 350 properties have flooded to date, but more than 222,000 properties have been protected by flood defences.