28/7/07 County council flood update

TODAY’S KEY MESSAGES

SATURDAY 28 JULY

Services Prepare for Next Weather Front

Gloucestershire County Council Staff and the County’s Fire and Rescue Service are working together to make sure Gloucestershire is fully prepared for the next band of severe weather.

A period of prolonged, heavy rain is expected to arrive in the county during the night.

Although conditions are not expected to be as extreme as those that battered the county at the start of the emergency, a thorough inspection of the local road network is now underway to try and prevent more widespread flooding.

Road surfaces are being checked and a detailed assessment of the damage is being carried including footpaths, bridges and street lighting.

Thirty extra vehicles have joined the massive clean-up operation to remove surface mud and to empty gullies of debris.

20,000 sandbags have been moved to strategic points around the county to protect the Mythe Treatment Works at Tewkesbury and The Walham and Castle Meads Sub Stations in Gloucester.

Further supplies of sandbags are also being made available for householders. City and district councils will carry out distribution of these.

As a further precaution, the Highways Agency is advising motorists not to travel unless their journey is absolutely necessary. Works teams are also on standby to keep the county’s roads network open.

We are working hard to ensure there are adequate water supplies in Gloucestershire and 6 million litres of water have now been distributed.

A leaflet is being distributed to all households in Gloucestershire advising them of health and safety precautions they need to take.

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