SOMERSET Council’s highways crews worked throughout the weekend and on Monday (November 25) after dozens of roads were flooded and hundreds of trees were downed.

Teams from the council’s contractor Kier dealt with 644 reports of incidents on the roads across Somerset during and after Storm Bert.

This came on the back of a week featuring four separate weather warnings for ice, snow, rain and wind.

Throughout Monday, crews were busy removing more than 200 trees which had been blown across roads, including the B3227 in Norton Fitzwarren.

By Monday evening around 300 incidents had been dealt with and crews were continuing to work to clear roads of trees and flood water.

Somerset Council shares impact of Storm Bert on local communities
Somerset Council shares impact of Storm Bert on local communities (Photo: Somerset Council)
Somerset Council shares impact of Storm Bert on local communities
(Photo: Somerset Council)

As recorded by the Met Office in Ilminster and Dulverton, rainfall reached 30.6mm and 30mm over the weekend, with wind speeds up to 60 and 56 knots per hour respectively. This equates to 69 and 65 mph winds, which pose a high risk of property and vehicle damage as well as risks of injury.

Flooding hit the A37, the A36 in Beckington was blocked by fallen power cables – it is now clear, and roads across the Levels were also under water, while the A3088 Cartgate Link Road near Yeovil was closed until 4pm on Monday for a specialist clear-up following a diesel spill when a tanker overturned.

Councillor Richard Wilkins, Somerset Council’s lead member for Transport and Waste, said: “This has been a challenging few days for our teams on the ground with hundreds of incidents to deal with – they’ve been out around the clock throughout the weekend and today and we’re incredibly grateful for their efforts.

“There are a number of road closures remaining in place and there may well be smaller roads across the county which are flooded, or which are blocked by fallen trees. Please don’t attempt to navigate flooded roads. If it’s safe to do so and you’re able to, please report any issues you come across and our teams will deal with them as quickly as possible.”

Somerset Council shares impact of Storm Bert on local communities
(Photo: Somerset Council)
Somerset Council shares impact of Storm Bert on local communities
(Photo: Somerset Council)

Kier general manager Allan Rigby said: “Our teams have been working really hard during the second named storm of the season alongside Somerset Council colleagues. Whilst it has been challenging our teams have pulled out all the stops, working through the night, to ensure that the network continues to run.”

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