Temporary flood barriers deployed in Bewdley as heavy rain predicted
Temporary flood barriers have been deployed in Bewdley as a flood alert remains in place and heavy rain is forecast on Tuesday.
Environment Agency workers installed the barriers at Beales Corner on Monday morning.
Barry Killner, response lead for the Environment Agency in the West Midlands, tweeted pictures of the team putting them in place.
People have also been warned that Bewdley Bridge will be closed at 7pm on Monday for around three hours to facilitate flood pump installation at Beale's Corner.
It comes as a flood alert was issued for the River Severn in Worcestershire after rising river levels due to heavy rainfall.
The flood alert says flooding of roads and farmland is expected to continue for the next few days.
The river level at Bewdley is expected to peak between 3.4m and 3.7m on Tuesday.
In Worcester, the New Road cricket ground flooded following persistent rain at the weekend.
Heavy rain is also predicted in the region on Tuesday, with further wet weather forecast on Wednesday and Thursday.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Frequent and sometimes persistent bands of rain across Wales and the Upper Severn area have resulted in saturated and full catchments, raising river levels along the Severn.
"These levels are not uncommon at this time of year and more rain is forecast for the week ahead.
"To reduce the risk of flooding to communities, we worked with our partners to deploy barriers at Shrewsbury (Frankwell) and at Bewdley (Severnside North and Severn Side South) last week.
"Further barriers are being deployed today at Ironbridge, Shropshire and Beales Corner in Bewdley.
“We continue to monitor the situation. People should check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or follow @EnvAgencyMids on Twitter for the latest flood updates.”
It comes after the push for permanent defences continues to protect homes on the notorious Beales Corner which has been flooded numerous times.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow toured the town last year to see the damage to homes and reiterated her push for the new £6.2 million measures.
The flood alert for the River Severn in Worcestershire, which was updated on Sunday morning, says: "River levels are rising at the Bewdley, Worcester, Kempsey Yacht Club and Saxons Lode river gauges as a result of heavy rainfall.
"Consequently, flooding of roads and farmland is expected to continue for the next few days.
"We expect flooding to affect low lying land and roads adjacent the river from Highley to Tewkesbury.
"Locations affected are Stourport, Holt Fleet, Worcester, Kempsey, Severn Stoke and Upton upon Severn. Predicted peaks:- Bewdley 3.4m to 3.7m on 10/01/23, Worcester 4.1m to 4.4m on 10/01/23, Kempsey Yacht Club 5.8m to 6.2m on 10/01/23, Saxons Lode 4.1m to 4.5m on 10/01/23.
"Further unsettled weather is forecast for the next few days. We are closely monitoring the situation. Please plan journeys to avoid using low lying footpaths and roads near local watercourses and rivers, which may be flooded."
In Shrewsbury, the Welsh Bridge gauge is at 3.11m, just short of the 3.15m needed before properties are at risk. In Bridgnorth it was measured at 3.34m this morning - short of the 5.26m record, and the Buildwas gauge measured 4.19m, The highest level recorded there was 7.04m.
