Wiltshire urged to make flood defence preparations
Climate change is bringing wetter and more severe weather
People in Wiltshire are being encouraged to make sure they're prepared for any flooding events this winter.
Climate change is bringing wetter and more severe weather conditions, with more areas of the county at risk of flooding.
Cabinet Member for Flooding, Cllr Martin Smith said: "We've already had one Autumn storm come in (Storm Amy). Flooding is becoming a more common and serious issue across the whole county."
Because of the weather patterns being more extreme, rivers and streams are more likely to burst their banks, putting more homes and spaces at potential risk.
"Any area near a main river now or even streams and low lying land are particularly vulnerable," Cllr Smith said.
He added: "Some other areas are more at risk of groundwater flooding, which is when the water table in the ground is so high that any rainfall just means you're immediately in a in a flood situation."
We can check our flood risk on the Environment Agency's online flood map, which helps inform us of how seriously we need to take the threat of flooding.
We're being advised to have a flood plan, as well as knowing our flood risk.
We can buy items to protect doorways and divert water away from homes, such as flood gates and barriers. The Council also recommends moving as many valuable items to higher floors in our homes, if that is possible.
And we can register for flood warnings and weather alerts from the Met Office on our phones.
We're asked to report issues to the Council, through the MyWilts app, such as standing water in gardens, roads and fields, as well as concerns about blocked gullies.