The Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) is a joint venture between the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

and the

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...

to provide improved flood risk guidance for England and Wales. The FFC is based in the Operations Centre at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter and is jointly staffed from both organisations.

Background

Following severe flooding across the UK in 2007 a review was commissioned by the government to see what lessons could be learned. Chaired by Sir Michael Pitt the review produced a number of recommendations which were published in June 2008, among them was the recommendation that the different agencies work more closely together to improve warnings services.

Formation and role

The FFC was officially opened on 21 April 2009 in London by

Environment Minister An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds Central since a by-election in 1999. He served in the Cabinet from 2003 to 2010, under both Tony Bla ...

. Its role is to provide better advice to governments, local authorities, emergency responders and the general public via its parent organisations. It faced its first major test in November 2009 when severe flooding affected Northern England, in particular

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

and the town of

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cocke ...

. The Pitt Review progress report highlighted the accuracy of the advice issued ahead of this event. In April 2011 the FFC moved from central London to a permanent base within the Operations Centre at the Met Office HQ in Exeter. It currently provides a range of operational

Hydrometeorology Hydrometeorology is a branch of meteorology and hydrology that studies the transfer of water and energy between the land surface and the lower atmosphere. Hydrologists often use data provided by meteorologists. As an example, a meteorologist might ...

services across England and Wales and limited services for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Operational services

The FFC provides a range of services to a number of customer groups: * Category 1 and 2 responders in England and Wales; a daily Flood Guidance Statement, telephone consultancy and web based services * Government Services; precautionary calls to facilitate discussion on flood risk * Hydrometeorology Services; to Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales Flood Forecasting and Flood Resilience Teams (who in turn provide flood warnings to the public in communities at risk) * Coastal Services for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland * Public Services; via
three-day flood-risk forecast

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official FFC websiteOfficial Environment Agency websiteOfficial Met Office website
Flood control Organizations established in 2009 Governmental meteorological agencies in Europe Organisations based in Devon Environmental organisations based in the United Kingdom Risk management Weather forecasting Met Office 2009 establishments in the United Kingdom