Dawlish News

Stretches of the Devon coast are at severe risk of flooding as persistent rain and gale-force winds were forecast to batter the county today.

People are being warned to stay away from the coastline as heavy rain is expected to continue throughout much of today, while gale-force winds are predicted to cause some damage to property.

Richard Horrocks, Regional Flood Risk Manager for the Environment Agency, said: "The arrival of an exceptionally deep area of low pressure is expected to coincide with spring tides today, bringing the risk of flooding to Devon and Cornwall coasts.



"Therefore we have issued severe flood warnings for the whole of the Devon and Cornwall coast."

Places including the Exe Estuary, Dawlish, Dawlish Warren and Budleigh Salterton were deemed to be at particular risk of danger to life and property due to flooding.

Sandbags were being distributed in Topsham last night as residents prepared for the storm to hit.

The Met Office in Exeter predicted a 60 per cent chance of delays to transport and power supplies in the county.

Spokeswoman Sancha Lancaster said severe gales of up to 80mph in coastal areas and 60mph inland were expected this morning and, after a brief respite, would continue throughout the afternoon and most of the evening until around midnight.

She said: "The message is to be careful if you are out and about, especially in high-sided vehicles on the roads.

"And please don't go and watch the waves because it's a very dangerous thing to do."

On the possible travel impact, she said: "We have had discussions with Network Rail about the risk of some overtopping along the line at Dawlish."

A contingency planning meeting of representatives from local councils, emergency services and HM Coastguard, the Met Office and the Environment Agency was convened at police headquarters in Exeter yesterday.

Police have drafted in extra staff today to assist with any problems caused by the weather,

Additional resources have been allocated to areas expected to be worst- hit by the conditions.

Assistant chief constable Bob Spencer said: "In the event of bad weather, please stay indoors and do not attempt any journeys which are not necessary.

"We are working closely with all agencies to ensure we reduce the risk to the public during this expected bad weather."

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "It is important for everyone living on the coast or near a tidal area to be properly prepared. Some people like to watch bad weather but this could be extremely dangerous.

"There are also things people can do to protect themselves and their homes, from fitting flood boards, moving valuables upstairs and moving vehicles to higher ground."

Michael Cavanagh, a spokesman for Network Rail, said there was the possibility of trains being disrupted and urged passengers to check routes before they travelled.

He said: "We are conscious of various parts of the network which might be at risk and where trains might have difficulty, and Dawlish is no exception.

"We are looking at our resources and we will make sure we have got them where the most high risk areas are.

"A lot of people will be heading to work and the advice is we are doing all we can but, with the high winds forecast, there is the potential for disruption to occur to services."

The duty control officer at South West Highways said they were in constant contact with the Met Office and Environment Agency and they had extra staff on standby to deal with any incidents occurring on the roads.

Weather updates are available by visiting the Met Office website at www.metoffice.gov.uk .

Anyone worried about flooding in their area can contact the Environment Agency's Floodline on 0845 988 1188.