Environment Agency: Why we struggled to predict flood in Fishlake, Doncaster
Bosses at the Envionment Agency have defended ‘late’ warnings residents claim they were given over flooding at the Doncaster village of Fishlake.
Around 700 people in the village were told to leave their homes over the weekend after seven separate ‘threat to life’ flood warnings were issued for the River Don.
But villagers have claimed the warning was ‘too little, too late’ as many homes had already been deluged by the time they were told to evacuate. Some people
A spokesperson for the Environment agency said: “Fishlake has been hit by combination of flooding from the Don spilling into the local floodplain, plus the presence of surface water. Given the interaction of a number of sources of water the exact nature and timing of flooding in this area was difficult to predict.
“The Environment Agency issued alerts and updates to residents of Fishlake from Thursday afternoon and the early hours of Saturday morning, warning them about the heavy rainfall, high water levels, and the possibility of flooding. The Severe Flood Warning was issued in the early hours of Saturday morning (12.50am).
“All residents of Fishlake who were signed up to the Environment Agency’s free flood warning service were sent these alerts.
For more information about flood warnings, log onto https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/target-area/123WAF972