More floods are expected as another storm approaches. Photo: Bob Embleton CC-BY-SA-2.0

Volunteer mountain rescuers in the West of the country have been put on standby today after the Met Office warned of more storms and possible flooding.

Teams in Cumbria, north Wales and south-west England are on alert as further extreme weather threatens to add to existing flooding.

Rescue volunteers from three Cumbrian teams, Duddon and Furness, Wasdale and Cockermouth, have been involved in emergency planning discussions with local organisations, including Cumbria County Council and the Environment Agency.

All the Cumbrian teams are on standby to help and to support any flood rescue efforts as needed, Mountain Rescue England and Wales said.

Similarly, Ogwen Valley MRO and North East Wales SRT are on standby and OVMRO were actively involved in the rescue of six people from a flooded farmhouse near Harlech last week.

Overall, the North Wales Mountain Rescue Association provided team leaders to work alongside police, fire and rescue, ambulance, Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Coastguard in a command role at police headquarters during the flooding throughout the week.

John Hulse of OVMRO and the regional North Wales Mountain Rescue Association said: “All six volunteer mountain rescue teams are ‘stoodup’ in North Wales for the flooding response.

“‘Backfill’ cover for the OVMRO mountain operations is being provided by Llanberis and Aberglaslyn MRTs.

“This mutual aid with different teams seamlessly supporting each other is a great success and a critical part of being able to provide a region-wide response.”

The Mountain Rescue England and Wales spokesperson added: “Everyone involved in mountain rescue in England and Wales is a volunteer and the teams would like to thank to all families and employers of team members for their understanding and support as the threat of serious flooding continues.”