Drivers in Staffordshire are being urged to take extra care on the roads and only travel if necessary as storm Babet and heavy rain continue to hit the county.
A Yellow Weather warning for rain is in place for Staffordshire until 6am on Saturday 21st October.
Parts of Staffordshire are already feeling the effects of the heavy rain with multiple major and minor roads closed due to flooding. Having received over 100 emergency calls, highways crews are also dealing with fallen trees blocking roads and footpaths and debris on the roads.
The A520 around Oulton, north of Stone is currently closed with 5 trees down and is likely to be shut until Saturday. Burnside in Rolleston is also closed due to the River Dove bursting its banks. In Leek crews also continue to deal with a fallen wall which has closed the footpath in Cruso Street in Leek.
Highways bosses are urging people to only make essential journeys. Anyone who needs to travel should allow more time for journeys and are being reminded not to drive through any flooded sections of road as there’s no way of telling how deep the water might be.
A Staffordshire County Council spokesman said: “We’ve already seen some very persistent heavy rain causing flooding on many of our roads and there’s more to come.
“Our highways crews are out in force across the county dealing with over 100 incidents of flooding, fallen trees and debris on the roads. They always do an amazing job working in very challenging conditions and will be doing their utmost to help clear roads as quickly as they can and to make sure our roads are as safe as possible for people to use.
“With further rain expected overnight and into the morning and the risk of more flooding on our roads, I’d ask people not to travel unless they really have too. If people do need to, it’s really important that they take extra care and allow more time for journeys.”
People should report any highways issues on the MyStaffs App or on the Staffordshire County Council Website.
Staffordshire Police said: “Please look out for flood warning and road closure signs! Do not ignore them! The water can be deeper than it looks and it really isn’t worth the risk! Turn around and find an alternative safer route.”
To check for flooding near you visit: https://orlo.uk/3IiBU
For details on what to do in a flood click here: https://orlo.uk/LVBMG
