We are urgently developing research requirements with other European laboratories to make sure we understand and the disease (Schmallenberg) better.RPA services hit by unprecedented flooding in Cumbria
HEAVY flooding has left the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) struggling to deliver services to farmers after some areas of North West England were left under up to 8ft of water following torrential rain.
The Environment Agency (EA) said rainfall in Cumbria had reached record levels with 12.3 inches falling over the past 24 hours at its Seawaite Farm gauging station.
The areas of Cockermouth and Keswick were worst hit as the river Derwent burst its banks and hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes by rescue teams including the RNLI, the fire service, police and the army.
The RPA said severe flooding at its Cumbria call centre had left it unable to offer a full service, affecting the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) while the RPA would only be running a ‘very limited’ telephone service.
In a statement the RPA said: “We are offering an answer service for all calls to BCMS and as soon as normal service resumes we will call people back to answer queries but this is not likely to be until next week.
“If you have already sent us notifications, we have plans to deal with these and there is no need to contact us.”
Defra Secretary Hilary Benn visited Cockermouth today (Friday, November 20) where he praised rescue efforts from the emergency services.
He said: “The flooding in Cumbria is a result of an extreme weather event. None of us can stop huge amounts of rain falling from the sky but we can make sure we are as prepared as possible which is why we have invested millions in flood defences and protection over the years.
“Our new Flood Forecasting Centre also means that we are better able to predict events like this and get warnings to people at the earliest possible stage. However I am determined that we learn any lessons from what has happened this week.”
The rain eased on Friday afternoon, but with more rain expected over the weekend the EA has put four flood severe flood warnings in place and 16 standard flood warnings.
In Wales, three areas are currently covered by flood warnings while in Scotland, where areas around Dumfries have also experienced flooding, there are currently 10 flood warnings in place.
