Storm Babet Stay Safe Advice As Major Incident In Suffolk Stood Down

Suffolk’s emergency services, councils and public organistions have ‘stood down’ the major incident response to Storm Babet – but are urging people to remain cautious and follow safety advice.

Suffolk’s emergency services, councils and public organistions have ‘stood down’ the major incident response to Storm Babet – but are urging people to remain cautious and follow safety advice. By Friday evening (20th October), some parts of east Suffolk had recorded 50 to 80mm of rain in 24 hours.

Numerous roads were blocked or partly blocked by flood water, included the A12 and A146. During Saturday, some roads were still affected by flooding, including around Framlingham and towards the coast at Dunwich.

Lowestoft fire crews were busy throughout Friday, as shown here from the Lowestoft South Fire Station team on social media: Meanwhile, public agencies in Suffolk are still responding to the impact and threats posed by the severe flooding, but are now able to do so within existing resources and without the need for tight coordination by the Suffolk Resilience Forum (SRF). Areas most badly hit by the floods are likely to continue to get additional coordinated support from public bodies across Suffolk – led by the district councils. People in east Suffolk are still being warned that flood water levels have not necessarily hit their peak. This is because flood water entering Suffolk’s rivers is flowing downstream towards the coast faster than expected – meaning water levels could rise before they drop. Residents and businesses, especially those close to water ways, should continue to follow closely flood warning and alerts from the Environment Agency and take action if advised. People can sign up to flood warnings here: Sign up for flood warnings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Here in Suffolk, people are no longer being asked to travel only if absolutely necessary, but are being urged to drive with caution. Key public safely advice includes: Don’t drive through flood water. J ust one egg cup of water is enough to wreck your engine Keep alert for surface water, drive according to the conditions and increase distance from the vehicle in front and be prepared to back off if visibility gets worse Be aware of debris left on roads by the flood water Return to abandoned vehicles and retrieve them, where safe to do so Avoid playing or swimming in flood water, because it can contain hidden dangers such as lifted manhole covers, sharp objects, sewage and chemicals. Check your flood risk here: Check for flooding - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)