Council Leader thanks those involved in city flood response
Published: 22 October 2023
Council Leader thanks those involved in city flood response
Cllr Baggy Shanker, Leader of Derby City Council said:
If you were in or around the city over the weekend, you’ll be aware that the challenges faced over the last few days has been enormous.
Council officers have worked tirelessly since Thursday to respond to the worst flooding we have experienced as a city, and I want to convey my sincere thanks to everyone who has worked so hard over the last few days.
I am immensely proud of the efforts of Council colleagues and partners. Our Team Derby response has been excellent, and despite the intensity of the rain and the unprecedented speed and level of the flooding, we ultimately kept people safe.
Despite best efforts, it was impossible to prevent a small number of properties being flooded. This is devastating for those households affected. My thoughts are with those who have had to experience this – I am so very sorry for you. The Government is working on schemes for affected households, and we’ll share this as soon as possible.
More broadly, we know this could have been so much worse, and I’m really pleased to say that our flood defences worked as designed - saving over 2,000 properties.
The new, award winning Mill Fleam Pumping Station saved over 40 properties, working exactly as designed after being used for the first time. We also suspect given the volume of water pumped out, that it has protected a huge proportion of the city centre from flooding.
As we move into clean up and recovery mode, I need to flag that a number of roads are likely to remain closed for some time. We’re aiming to reopen these as soon as possible, but there is still significant flooding on a number of roads and underpasses as a result of the water levels we had yesterday.
We need to remove large amounts of debris and check for damage to bridges and structures before roads can be reopened. This is to ensure your safety, so even though a road looks dry, please be aware it may not be safe to open.
We will work as quickly as we can to get our road network running normally, working in priority areas first before moving on to residential areas, but please be patient, and try not to travel into the city by car if possible.
As roads, flood gates, and pedestrian routes reopen we’ll continue to update our website and social media channels so please keep an eye on those.
Please be mindful that many rivers and streams will remain very full and fast-flowing for several days. Keep away from river banks and pathways close to rivers, and never enter the water to rescue anyone, or an animal in difficulty in the water. Call 999 immediately. Read more about water safety.
Thinking ahead, preparedness remains one of our best forms of defence against flooding. If you live in a risk area, you should register for the Environment Agency's Flood Warnings Direct service.
This is a free service which sends you a direct message when flooding is expected which may affect your property. You can receive warnings by telephone, mobile, email, text message or fax.