Lincolnshire Resilience Forum chairman says county is not out of the woods after Storm Henk

The rain might have eased but Lincolnshire is not yet out of the woods, says the man who has been leading the county’s emergency response to the Storm Henk.

Chairman of Lincolnshire Resilience Forum and chief fire officer Mark Baxter is continuing to urge people to respect the road closures which remain in place after yesterday’s flooding and says that some officers remain in place around Bourne area.

Mr Baxter is expecting to move from the ‘response’ phase to enhanced monitoring later today but has warned that problems could still happen up to four days later as rainwater from elsewhere moves into the county.

The resilience forum brings together the county’s emergency services, council officers and health groups to respond to emergencies such as the storms along with the pandemic.

Mr Baxter said: “We are not fully out of the woods yet but the picture is improving.

“Levels are dropping and we are getting a much needed respite from the downpours but we are also very aware that it could take two, three or four days for water to come through from the land and other areas.

“I would like to think we will move from the response phase later today as the picture is improving. What we will be going into is an enhanced monitoring period where we will be working closely with the Environment Agency and the drainage boards who will look at riverways, dykes and water courses to see if the situation continues to decrease.”

Several roads around the county and in neighbouring Rutland by the heavy flooding.

Folkingham Road in Billingborough and Main Street, Greatford remain closed this afternoon.

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Mr Baxter said: “The road closures are put in place for people’s safety. The rainfall is easing and the roads are still extremely wet in many areas where the road is still flooded.

“Driving through them is extremely hazardous so people’s adherence to road closures is important.”

Mr Baxter has also said that the response to the emergency was ‘exemplary’ with people coming together throughout yesterday when it was clear that the county was going to experience problems.

The forum had a number of tried and tested plans which were put into place – and people were still working during the early hours of the morning.

Mr Baxter said: “We are very proud of how Lincolnshire Resilience Forum has operated, we have been very effective.

“It has been busy we have had a lot of agencies deployed across the county. It wasn’t as significant as Storm Babet in the fact there was not a large amount of flooding across the county.

“The worst areas were probably around Bourne and the Market Deeping area – they have really borne the brunt of the flooding.”

Mr Baxter said that the farming community has absorbed a lot of the problems as the water ended up on agricultural fields.

He also also praised the community for their response to the crisis as well.

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