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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Damien Gayle

England’s automated flood alerts to be permanent despite inaccuracy warnings

The ford at Lands End in the Berkshire village of Charvil overflows.
Unions say the automated system is not an effective way of warning the public about potential floods. Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/REX/Shutterstock

The flood warning system relied on by hundreds of thousands of households in England will be put on permanent autopilot, officials have said, despite warnings it is inaccurate.

The Environment Agency has been trialling an automated flood warning system since December, when strike action by workers over years of below-inflation pay deals left gaps in incident rosters.

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