Public 'encouraged to monitor flood levels'

The public have been encouraged to keep track of flood levels with the launch of a new monitoring service.

Earlier this week, the Environment Agency released a new website which enables local residents to monitor the levels of nearby rivers at over 1,700 locations across the UK.

The organisation's flood risk manager Geoff Boyd claimed that the service will help keep everyone up to date with rising water levels and encourage people to "make informed decisions about how to respond to potential flooding".

He said: "Online river and sea level data will complement the Environment Agency's free flood warning service, and we urge people to sign up to receive free alerts."

According to the agency, as well as giving warnings to homeowners and businesses about the possibility of floods, it can also alert people to low river levels.

This, it said, will persuade people to use water resources sparingly.

The move comes after a number of floods affected different areas of the world last month, including disastrous storms in Brazil which killed over 40 people.

Posted by Claire Manning