Nottinghamshire County Council urge residents to remain vigilant after Storm Babet floods

After Storm Babet brought a month’s worth of rainfall in one day, residents are being urged to remain vigilant as communities continue to recover from extensive flooding and disruption.

A major incident was declared in the county at the weekend following the heavy rainfall — of which a record 67mm was recorded by Paul Merritt's amateur weather station in Newark — which caused rivers and streams to burst their banks and left many homes and businesses under water.

More than 500 properties and around 60 businesses have been affected by flooding since Friday and several roads are still closed.

Since Friday, the Nottinghamshire Local Resilience Forum, a multi-agency partnership made up of local authorities and emergency services, has been working to respond to some of the worst flooding the county has experienced and help people in the most need.

The support has included Nottinghamshire County Council providing 2,500 sandbags to flood-hit communities and emergency services evacuating residents in Edwinstowe and Lowdham, where 100 properties are thought to have been flooded alone.

This work was supported by the hard work of town flood forums and their volunteer flood wardens, who assisted residents in protecting and evacuating their properties, as well as directing motorists away from floodwater.

In Collingham, some residents were left stranded after a road collapsed for a second time.

Flood alerts and warnings are also still in place across the county and the Local Resilience Forum is asking people to remain vigilant to flooding and to continue checking the latest weather forecast and travel advice.

Neil Clarke, Nottinghamshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport and environment, said: “My heart goes out to all those who have been affected by the flooding and I know this has been an immensely challenging and traumatic time for many people in Nottinghamshire.

“I have visited flood-hit areas across the county and seen how our towns and villages have pulled together and shown resilience and true community spirit in their support of each other during very difficult circumstances.

“The weather conditions have improved since the weekend, but I would urge communities to stay vigilant and keep an eye on the latest forecasts, travel advice and flood alerts.

“I would like to thank the emergency services, all the partner agencies and all the local volunteers such as flood wardens, who have provided support to people throughout these terrible floods.

“This support will continue as the situation moves to a recovery process in the coming days and weeks.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and remain ready to respond and support people whenever and wherever necessary.”

Residents whose homes have suffered internal flooding are entitled to a one-off hardship grant of £120 which is intended to provide some immediate relief for essential provisions in the aftermath of the flooding.

To apply for a grant, call the county council’s Customer Service Centre on 0300 500 8080, Monday to Thursday between 8.30am and 5pm, and between 8.30am and 4.30pm on Fridays.

It is also providing support for businesses affected by flooding.

Keith Girling, cabinet member for economic development at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We know how devastating the recent floods have been for the many small and medium sized businesses who are the backbone of the economy in our towns and communities across Nottinghamshire.

“This is why we are providing support and advice for those businesses which have been affected, as well as hardship funding to help in the interim while insurance claims are being made.”

Business which have been affected can email BusinessTeam@nottscc.gov.uk, providing details about the organisation, postcode, and how it has been impacted for advice and signposting.

Small businesses with up to 49 employees are eligible to apply for an emergency payment of up to £300 via the council website.