RISING river levels along the River Severn are now causing concern as the full impact Storm Christoph has had on Worcestershire is coming to light.

Levels on the River Severn are continuing to rise, after the arrival of Storm Christoph earlier this week brought heavy rain to much of the UK creating several flooding hotspots.

River levels are now expected to be similar to those of the February 2020 floods and are expected to peak in Bewdley tomorrow morning and then in Worcester and Upton tomorrow afternoon and evening.

The rising levels have seen Bewdley Bridge close to vehicles and further down the river Severn in Worcester, there will be a full closure on Hylton Road from this evening and restrictions will be in place along Tybridge Street and New Road whilst the contraflow system is put into place.

The traffic management in the St John’s area will be revised to support the flow of traffic.

Hanley Road towards Upton-Upon-Severn also remains closed with a diversion in place.

The council are also monitoring the A38 at Severn Stoke and will deploy traffic management if needed, depending on how river levels react.

A number of further road closures remain live across the county, a full list of which can be found on the County Council website.

Councillor Simon Geraghty, said: “We recognise the impact that Storm Christoph and the subsequent flooding has had, and will continue to have, on residents, businesses and local communities across the county. The recent rainfall that we’ve seen, has led to some areas of the county being flooded in matter of weeks.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our front line staff and the emergency services teams who are working tirelessly to keep the residents of Worcestershire as safe as possible. This has been made even more diiduflcy given the challenging and rapidly developing situation in additional to dealing with an emergency during a pandemic and in national lockdown.”

Roads and bridges have had close throughout the Teme Valley over the course of the last 48 hours however, the River Teme is receding and the situation in that area of the county is slowly improving.

Along the River Avon, Cropthorne, Fladbury and Eckington have been affected – similar to the Teme, levels along the Avon are declining and will continue to do so over the weekend.

River levels across the Severn will peak over the coming days but are expected to recede pretty quickly.

The County Council’s highways control team has been co-ordinating with the flood risk management team and colleagues from the Environment Agency and the emergency services to ensure that the situation is being constantly monitored. This work will continue today and throughout the weekend as the situation develops.

The council has also been closely liaising with district councils and the emergency services to ensure a co-ordinated response to the situation and to deal with highways issues and provide support to other services where required.

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