Somerset County Council Announce "Major Incident"

24 January 2014, 17:25 | Updated: 24 January 2014, 17:33

Somerset County Council has now declared a “major incident” for all of the areas affected by flooding in the county.

Earlier in the day, Sedgemoor District Council made the same announcement for its own flood-affected areas. It follows forecasts of further heavy rain coupled with high spring tides next week that could cause more flooding.

Deputy Chief Executive Pat Flaherty said:

“Our priority has to be to keep people safe. We are doing everything we can to do this and we believe that declaring a major incident shows just how urgent the situation is for many of our residents and communities. The reason we are taking this action is the long-term nature of the issues we are facing and to enable a consistent approach to the way that we deal with them".

Somerset County Council will continue with its current help and support for people affected by flooding which includes:

Providing a boat service for the cut-off community of Muchelney and Thorney
Providing a pontoon bridge at Langport
Supporting farmers providing a vital tractor service to communities
Keeping the majority of roads open across the Council
Identifying vulnerable people and where appropriate moving individuals to safety
Helping people keep vital dialysis and other important medical appointments using 4x4 vehicles
Assessing public health and animal welfare issues

Keep up to date with the latest flooding news in Somerset by following @SomersetCouncil on Twitter and support Somerset County Council’s ‘Fairer Funding for Somerset’ campaign by liking and sharing photos at www.facebook.com/fairerfundingforsomerset