Ministers told ‘incompetence’ at Met Office led to underestimation of Storm Bert

Environment Secretary Steve Reed has been asked to review “incompetence” at the Met Office that led to a “clear underestimation” of the impact of Storm Bert.

Labour MP for Cardiff West, Alex Barros-Curtis, said warnings should have been “amber or red”, as Mr Reed told MPs that more flooding is “likely”.

Hundreds of homes were left under water, roads were turned into rivers and winds of more than 80mph were recorded across parts of the UK.

More than 130 flood warnings and 160 alerts remained in place across the UK on Monday.

Response

In the Commons on Monday, Mr Barros-Curtis asked: “Can I ask that the Secretary of State speak to his Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) colleagues to carefully look into the role of the Met Office here?

“It is clear that their response was slow and that there was a clear underestimation of the impact of Storm Bert.

“They put it yellow rather than amber or red. Our constituents have been let down by this incompetence before, and it cannot keep happening.”

Mr Reed said: “In most parts of the countries that were affected, warnings were given with adequate time for people to prepare and I would encourage people to sign up on the Defra website, or the Environment Agency website for warnings and alerts if they live in an area that could be affected by flooding.

“I’m aware of the particular concern that he mentions regarding the Met Office, and I will indeed be speaking to colleagues in DSIT as they review the circumstances of that and look at how the situation can be improved for future events of this kind.”

Flooding

During his update to the House, the Environment Secretary said that more flooding this week is “likely” but its impact “should be less severe” than has been seen.

He said: “Around 28,000 properties are being protected by Environment Agency flood defences.

“Unfortunately, an estimated 107 properties have flooded across England, principally from river and surface water flooding.”

He added: “The Environment Agency and local responders have also been busy protecting properties elsewhere in England, including flooding from the River Teme in Tenbury Wells where around 40 properties have flooded.

“The river has now peaked and local responders will be focusing on the lower reaches of rivers over the next few days.”

He further stated: “Further flooding is sadly likely over the next few days as water levels rise in slower flowing rivers such as the Severn and the Ouse.

“The Environment Agency anticipates that any impacts should be less severe than we have seen in recent days.”

Mr Reed also described the flood defences they inherited from the previous government as being “in the worst condition on record following years of underinvestment”.

He added: “Over 3,000 of our key flood defences are below an acceptable standard.

“That is why we are investing £2.4 billion over the next two years to build and maintain flood defences.”