Automated flood warning system trialled in Carmarthenshire

People living in Llanddowror, Carmarthenshire, are amongst the first in the UK to benefit from a new automated flood warning system trialled by Environment Agency Wales.

People registered on the new warning system will automatically receive Flood Warnings direct to their mobile, home phone or email when the River Hydfron reaches a certain level.   Ordinarily, Flood Warnings are issued by Agency specialists who use the latest information on rainfall and river levels, as well as their knowledge, to issue warnings manually. This system is more accurate as the specialists can predict how much the river is likely to rise over the coming hours.

The River Hydfron in Llanddowror, however, responds extremely quickly to rainfall and it is not possible to provide a manual warning in enough time.  T

his new automated system will give people in the community who are registered advanced warning and time to prepare to protect themselves and their homes.   The system was put to the test last weekend when the river rose extremely quickly, after the area experienced localised rainfall so heavy it would only be expected once every seventy years.   As a result, automated flood warnings were issued to 32 properties in the area over an hour before river levels peaked and flooding occurred.

This provided valuable time for local people to prepare and install flood gates provided by the Agency to reduce the impact of the flooding.  The warning system will also give emergency responders, like the fire service and the local authority, time to prepare.  If the system proves successful it could be replicated in other communities where there are rivers that respond quickly to rainfall, like the Hydfron.

Steve Brown, from Environment Agency Wales said:

“The automated service is the first of its kind to provide warnings to people without manual intervention.

“As a result of the system last weekend, people had time to put their village flood plan into action and to install their flood gates to protect their homes.

“I really cannot stress enough the importance of signing up for flood warnings if you are at risk and the warnings are available in your area. An hour may not seem like a long time, but it can give people time to prepare and do all they can to try and limit the damage that a flood can cause.”

People can find out if their property is at risk of flooding, and if a free flood warning service is available in their area by phoning Floodline on 0845 988 1188 or visiting www.environment-agency.gov.uk/flood