AFTER hundreds of homes were affected by record amounts of rainfall last year, Dudley Council has identified key actions to reduce the risk of future floods in the borough.

In June 2016, Dudley borough experienced extreme rainfall for a number of days, which led to overloaded local drains and widespread flooding, unseen in recent times.

More than 300 calls were made to the council from residents asking for help and 100 homes experienced internal flooding from surface water.

The highest recorded rainfall was on June 16, when 77mm of rain came down within a two hour period.

Due to the size and nature of last year’s floods, under the Flood and Water Management Act, the council was tasked with carrying out an in-depth investigation and report on ways to reduce the future risk of floods.

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, cabinet member for environmental services, said: “Last year the amount of rain we received in a relatively short amount of time caused devastation to many homes in the borough.

“It caught us all off guard as these levels of rainfall were unexpected.

“We understand this was a very testing and distressing times for those residents and businesses effected and we are committed to working with key partners to put new measures in place to help reduce the risk of flooding in the future.”

The investigation has identified immediate actions including maintaining the highway drainage system, giving priority to areas with a high risk of surface water flooding as well as improving the flood reporting process and the support and advice available to residents.

The council has also added new flood hot spots to its pre-flood action plan, identifying additional sand bag drop-off locations and critical gulley locations.

Click here to read the full report.

Additional ongoing actions have also been identified including ensuring flooding is a consideration in the planning process.