Battered West Country communities await more flood misery this weekend, with a full-scale emergency declared in Somerset and the Environment Agency warning of groundwater flooding and more road closures in Dorset and Wiltshire.
Thousands of acres of the Levels have been inundated for three weeks with main roads closed and communities such as Muchelney completely cut off. Businesses face huge disruption, diversions and extra costs from road closures. Some are paying their workforces to stay at home, and the costs to farmers and dozens of businesses will run into millions of pounds.
There are fears that the next band of rain could cause major problems for Langport and the villages of Westonzoyland and Moorland, near Bridgwater. There is a further problem: next week tides will start to rise again in the Bristol Channel, limiting the capacity of rivers to drain the area.
Read more: http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/scale-emergency-flooded-Somerset-Levels/story-20498933-detail/story.html
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