Heavy rain prompts flood alerts in Norfolk and south London
Risk of flooding to low-lying land in Ravensbourne catchment in London, and high water levels in rivers Glaven and Bure
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Mark Tran
theguardian.com, Tuesday 27 May 2014 17.34 BST
Rain in London
Tourists wear ponchos for protection from the rain on Westminster Bridge in London. Photograph: Luke Macgregor/Reuters
The Environment Agency has issued flood warnings for parts of England, with up to 70mm of rain expected by Wednesday night in areas of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire and the Humber.
A flood alert, meaning flooding is possible and people should be prepared, was issued for the Ravensbourne catchment in the London boroughs of Lewisham, Bromley, Greenwich and Croydon. "River levels are rising in response to rainfall this morning," the agency said. "Flooding of low-lying land and roads is possible at the top of the catchment but levels should recede by late afternoon. Flooding of properties is not expected at this time. Further rain is forecast overnight. However this is unlikely to see river levels rise further."
There were also alerts in Norfolk for the river Glaven from Thornage to Cley next the Sea, and the river Bure near the market town of Aylsham. "We are seeing high river levels on the river Glaven due to high and persistent rainfall since last night. The peak of the river is now near Hunworth river. Levels are likely to continue to rise quickly, especially in the areas of Letheringsett. Over the next six hours the forecast is for heavy rain."
The agency has 13 low-level flood alerts in the south-east and the Midlands, mainly warning of groundwater flooding close to rivers. Most of the alerts covering the south-east date back to January.
The Meteo Group forecaster Gareth Harvey said: "An area of prolonged rain is moving up over the eastern region and it's not going to shift until Wednesday night. The rain is not exclusive to the east region but that's where the persistent and largest rainfall totals of between 50 and 70mms will be. Pretty much the whole of Great Britain will see rain at some point over the next 48 hours. This means there could be some localised flooding."
The Met Office said more showers or longer spells of rain were expected for Thursday, and the weather should turn drier, brighter and warmer by the weekend.