Two severe Flood Warnings remain in place as issued by the Environment Agency on Wednesday. Water levels have risen in Moorland by 7mm overnight with levels continuing to rise. Water is rising by approximately 5mm per hour, this per hour rate is expected to increase overnight.

Latest information on properties (not exact): roughly 36 people remain in Moorland across roughly 16 properties. Moorland village hall is now flooded, the 24hr police-manned information and support centre has now moved to the Old School House in Moorland.

Travel to the Moorland area should be avoided as the area is inaccessible to normal vehicles and 4 x 4’s- it is now only accessible by boat. SDC were tasked with setting-up transportation cell this morning, which will include fire and rescue, county, SDC and military. SDC set-up the cell with SCC now leading this activity.

Sedgemoor Direct has extended opening hours at present- they are open 8-6pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Calls in relation to flood response will be prioritised with other callers asked to contact us in normal operating hours if calls are queued to be answered. CCTV will provide an emergency 24-7 service outside of Sedgemoor Directs opening hours. 0845 4082540

The SDC-staffed rest centre is still open on a 24/7 basis. The rest centre address is Westfield Church, West street, Bridgwater, TA6 7EU. There is food, drink, showers and toilets available. There is a childrens play space. Domestic pets are accepted (cats need to be in suitable carriers).

Bedding, towels and pet food donations are being logged by Sedgemoor Direct- 0845 408 2540. No more food or drink offers for the rest centre are requested. A steady stream of offers have been coming in all day today. These offers are being forwarded to the flood contact list who can check this spreadsheet at 2-hourly intervals if, and when, support is needed.

Offers of accommodation (spare rooms) are being logged by Sedgemoor Direct and then passed to Housing Advice and the rest centre manager on shift. Again steady stream of offers coming in.

Offers of Financial support are being directed to the Somerset Community Foundation Flood Relief fund:  www.somersetcf.org.uk

Offers related to livestock (haulage, land, feed) are being directed to call the Police at 101 and make contact with animal cell.

Sandbags and portaloos continue to be distributed by Clean Surrounds- as requested- with our depot operating an emergency duty rota for the weekend. Contact via Sedgemoor Direct or CCTV out of hours number.

SDC continue to lead the animal welfare cell and have been working closely with Defra and Trading Standards to ensure, where requested, livestock and domestic animals are moved to places of safety. Enquiries to be directed to Police via 101. Offers related to livestock (haulage, land, feed) are being directed to call 101 and make contact with animal cell.

All media enquiries are being handled by the media cell based in Taunton.

F.L.A.G CONTACT DETAILS

The Flooding on the Levels action group are best placed ‘on the ground’ to advise on where suppport is needed and have set up a list of contact numbers.The FLAG help coordination will try to help you :

• Housing: Liz Johnson 07743 817197, Helen 07919 095456
• Hot meals/food: Shell Fisher: 07984 351977
• Animals: Helen Toye: 07516 140048
• Agricultural: Rebecca Horsington 07800 778885
• Sandbags and general help Tim Holmes: 07715 271618
• Transport: Jo Prewett 07825 638472
• Drop Off Points ; Danielle McIntyre 07765 344250

Please contact them if you need or can offer local help. They say, ” if you’re not sure it doesn’t matter, we will try and help you but with such great volume of requests please also be patient. If you are in a life threatening situation always call 999″

• To speak to your local Environment Agency Duty Officer, call the Incident Communication Service on 0845 850 3518.
• Advise the public to call Floodline on 0845 988 1188 using quickdial 164025 for up-to-date flooding information.
• The Environment Agency website contains details of river level and flooding information and can be accessed at www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
• Please report any flooding in your area to your local Environment Agency office.