Todmorden flood siren to be switched off as residents urged to be extra vigilant

Due to essential building works at Todmorden High School, which includes the roof being upgraded, the Environment Agency’s flood siren will be turned off from tomorrow (August 25) until September 4.

Jon Follows, flood resilience officer for the Environment Agency, said: “The flood sirens across the Calder Valley are secondary methods of informing you that a flood is expected, so it is really important that all residents and businesses are signed up to the Environment Agency flood warning service.

"This allows you get advanced notification of flooding via phone, text and email.”

“Residents and businesses need to be pro-active in thinking about the risks posed by flooding and how they can take steps to be prepared. It’s vital they put together their own flood plan, keep up to speed with the latest weather forecast and flood warning information on our website. We closely monitor river levels and the weather and will issue alerts and flood warnings if necessary.”

In Todmorden and Hebden Bridge in the Calder Valley, more than 80 percent of residents who are eligible to receive flood warnings from Floodline Warnings Direct have signed up.

There are four sirens in Todmorden which are sited at the fire station, the high school, Morrisons and Warmans.

Throughout Calderdale there is also one at Walsden, two in Hebden Bridge, one in Mytholmroyd and a community siren in Sowerby Bridge.

To find out more about the dangers of flood water, to find out if your property is at risk of flooding and how to put together a flood plan for your home or business, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or visit www.gov.uk/flood

You can also keep up to date on flood information by visiting www.eyeoncalderdale.com or following @EnvAgencyYNE and #floodaware on Twitter.