There has been widespread travel disruption across the road and rail network with a number of closures affecting key roads which has caused significant congestion. Last night brought significant rain – water levels are continuing to rise and the weather continues to be wet across the next few days with heavy showers at times, particularly Wednesday going into Thursday. There is no opportunity at this point for ground to recover, it remains saturated. The Somerset Levels and Moors are of particular concern but there are vulnerable communities across the county due to rising water levels and continued rain.

There remain numerous flood warnings and a number of flood alerts in place – residents should check if they are at risk here Check for flooding in England – GOV.UK Emergency Response and Recovery Team

Unconfirmed and isolated reports of some flooding to properties – we are anticipating more. Please encourage anyone impacted by property flooding to report this to us via this link Flood report – Self Service.

In an emergency residents should always call 999 immediately.
For information and guidance visit here Flooding information and advice
 Incident room at County Hall is being set up
 Work is underway to identify vulnerable people across the county,
working with services.
 Preparation underway for developing situation.
Highways updates
 Teams dealt with reports across the county throughout the night using existing resource – extra Kier resource remains available and will be on standby tonight and into tomorrow.
 Teams across the county operating jetting units, clearing debris and flooded
roads where possible.
Key road closures/disruption:
 M5 – two lanes were flooded southbound between Junction 25
(Taunton) and Junction 26 (Wellington) now appears to be running normally but major disruption caused earlier.
Train services stopped between Castle Cary and Taunton.
Closures so far:
 A358 – between Horton Cross and Church Street (Donyatt).
 A303 – flooding from Southfields roundabout (Ilminster) to Chard
turn off (Upottery). Earlier reports of closure beyond Eagle Tavern.
 A361 – (East Lyng to Burrowbridge)
 Cutts Road (East Lyng to Athelney)
 Langport Road (Muchelney to Langport)
 New Road (West Lyng to North Curry)
 Stoke Road, Martock
 Henlade/Ruishton to Creech St Michael
 Also – local reports that the road is closed at Wrantage
 Sampford Moor Road closed due to landslip
 B3153 at Clanville
 A38 Wellington Road (West Buckland)
 Godminster Lane, Bruton – closed due to a tree down
 A38 Taunton to Bridgwater – Monkton Elm and Walford
 Reports of deep flood water on A359 from Mudford to Marston
Magna.
 Many bus services are facing disruption, please expect delays.

Environment Agency update 27 January

Following the arrival of Storm Chandra overnight water levels are rising
across the Somerset Levels and Moors. Up to 50mm+ fell on already
saturated ground, and impacts have been felt across Somerset, and flood
storage areas are filling as water moves down the catchment. There are

currently 20 flood warnings and 13 alerts are currently in force for
Somerset.
Athelney Spillway is running and will continue to run for the time being. All
flood storage moor spillways are running, and all moors are continuing to
fill.
Our pumping stations are running whenever possible. However, pumps can
only operate when there is space in the rivers to receive the water. On the
Parrett / Tone catchment, all pumps upstream of Burrowbridge cannot run
as the rivers are completely full. We will operate pumps as soon as river
levels allow. Northmoor and Saltmoor pumping stations are running all
station pumps at full capacity, discharging into the River Parrett.
Our staff installing pumps have experienced threats and abuse from
members of the public; we are requesting the public to avoid the pumping
stations during this time to allow our staff to operate in a timely and safe
manner.
The Met Office has issued an Amber weather warning for heavy rain
covering the South West today. The weather is expected to remain
unsettled for the rest of the week, and a Yellow warning for rain has been
issued for Thursday. We are monitoring the situation closely and our teams
are on duty around the clock.

Pump installations: The crane is on site at Northmoor and is putting the
extra pumps in situ, with pipework due to be connected next. Installation is
progressing well. Pumps are being installed at Saltmoor. Brief road
closures / traffic management will be in place to enable the installation of
equipment.

Water still needs to work its way through the network of rhynes and
channels to the pumping stations – the enhanced pumps at Northmoor and
Saltmoor will only be able to run when there is enough water in the drains.
We have isolated reports of property flooding. We would encourage
members of the public to report flooding to the incident hotline or to
Somerset Council.

We are meeting with Local Resilience Forum partners later today, and
coordinating closely with Somerset Council and the emergency services.
The incident room in Bridgwater is open, and staff are on duty 24 hours a day.
Flooding of some properties close to rivers in the flood warning areas is possible.
Check your risk and the latest warnings and alerts here at https://check-for-
flooding.service.gov.uk/alerts-and-warnings

Forecast
Although the weather warnings have now ended there are continued showers
of varying intensity forecast over the coming days and into the weekend falling
on already saturated ground.

Further spells of wet weather forecast throughout next week.

Advice for residents
Our Communications Team is sharing information about where to find useful
information for what to do to prepare for flooding.

Anyone worried about flooding or impacted by flooding can find advice and
guidance at Flooding information and advice

If there is serious risk to life due to flooding always call 999.

Anyone needing to leave their home due to flooding is reminded to take any
medication they may need with them.

Do not drive through flood water. More information about safety during floods
on the road can be found here: Adverse weather conditions

Schools
There are at least 30 closures due to weather. For information on school
closures please visit School closures
Reporting problems
To report flooding on a road or blocked drains on a road use our report a
problem on a road form

If your property is owned by us and has been affected by flooding, please visit our
Housing repairs page or you can phone us on 0300 123 2224.
For urgent housing needs please contact Somerset Council housing team on
0800 123 2224. Further information can be found on our website
www.somerset.gov.uk/housing-support/homelessness-guidance/

Waste collections
The situation is changing rapidly, so we appreciate your patience today. Here
is the latest update on collections:

 Evercreech and Lufton Depots – All crews for all services are working
as usual but flooding issues may mean we can’t collect from all
properties.
 Williton – All crews are now out, though there was a delayed start due
to road closures.
 Central (Bridgwater covering Sedgemoor & Taunton) – Some staffing
issues due to traffic and road closures caused by flooding. Refuse
crews are out and have started, but there have been and we expect
significant impact to scheduled services.
 The road to the Taunton depot is closed from the Taunton side, and
while access from North Petherton is possible, this will cause some
disruption. We are continuing to monitor the situation.
This will undoubtedly cause issues for the rest of the week.
The message for residents at the moment is that there will be delays for
collections across the county. Please leave your boxes, bags and bins out and
crews will try and get back to you as soon as possible. Keep an eye on social
media for updates as the position may change quickly.
It may not be possible to return for your missed recycling collection, if your
recycling remains uncollected by tomorrow evening please represent it on
your next scheduled collection day.

Stay up to date
For the latest travel updates visit our Travel Somerset Facebook page or
our Roadworks and travel information page
Find out the current status of roads that have Emergency road closure gates