13/01/2017 Look East

live from Great Yarmouth, and on BBC One we now join the BBC's

where tonight the East coast is on severe alert

All day, thousands of residents in coastal towns have been

as gale force winds and high tides threaten to overwhelm sea defences.

Soldiers are on stand-by along the coast to help.

There will be around 12 hours of disruption here, people are just

hoping that the high winds never arrive.

Stay with us for the next half hour as we ask the experts what to expect

when high tide arrives later this evening.

In other news tonight, The Government gives the greenl ight

to a host of road schemes to get the region moving.

And much of the region gets its first taste of winter.

We have the best of your weather pictures.

Here in Great Yarmouth the people wake up to snow as they did in many

places across the region, it is very cold and there is a strong wind

blowing and it could be much worse would this evening. There are 17

severe flood warnings in operation across the region, that means there

is a danger to life, there are 89 other flood warnings. Deadly you

where the problems are. Starting at Norfolk around to Great Yarmouth, in

Suffolk and Southwold is down to Felixstowe and in Essex, Clacton and

Southend. Lots of people worrying about the high tide, it will come

the series around 9pm and 11pm and as you can see people are filling up

sandbags. The Council have put in sand and have told people to come

along with their own bags and shovels and to go and protect their

homes. Let's start in Great Yarmouth.

Warning people to leave their homes because of a severe flood risk which

means there is a real danger. Many have been advised to leave, many are

not keen to go. I have never gone, but it has come right to the edge of

the curb, just out here. The last time in 2013. But nothing, so... I

am just going to stay and pray lucky. This morning's high tide came

and went without problems, tonight high tide is what everyone is

concerned about. If there are 50-60 mph winds down the tide is likely to

breach the first and that is because there is no sea defence is of the

water will easily flood these homes. These are preparing for the worst,

filling up sandbags to protect their homes. The panicking, I'm trying to

sort something. Hopefully the wind will keep it away. It has happened a

couple times before it has not quite got our house but I would rather be

prepared. You can get away with it forever, it is bound to happen one

year. Lives and Roman have spent the morning moving their possessions and

the cat upstairs away from any possible floodwaters. Touchwood,

fingers crossed, we hopefully get away with it but as an all boys

could only to be prepared. It is not just flooding, late morning the snow

for -- the snow as forecast arrived, really Great Yarmouth battling some

of the worst weather combinations. To make the police are concerned

that people are not moving from their homes. If the event goes the

way that it could with the warnings we have had that would then turn

into a rescue operations I would urge people to heed the warnings and

evacuate. Tonight, 200 military personnel are on stand-by to help

with the evacuation. It is now a waiting game which many hope is not

won by the strong wind and tide. Let's stop to see people filling the

sandbags. Mark Kate and Telecom already went -- ready live? I live

in Newtown. We will stay there. We sell is happening three years ago in

2013 but you have to take precautions. So we're just filling

up sandbags and blocking the doorway is. I have done about so far today I

have done about 20 sandbags but that is for relatives as well. Eight what

about you? We live nearby. The army have told us to leave so we will

front it out. Have you moved things in the house? We have moved some

things upstairs. They say should leave, why don't you? I have a dog,

had will not go anywhere without the dog. They have said where we can go

but if you get overcrowded I would rather leave it to the elderly. They

reckon this will get bad at around nine or ten o'clock. Nine or 930 and

I have heard it will be worse than last time. I'm keeping an eye on the

place and looking around so the worst comes to worst then we will

get out. Where would you go? I have relatives in case showcases high

ground follows. Sorry to interrupt your digging. Fingers crossed for

you tonight. It is about 5000 homes here, further down the coast of

course is thousands more. One of the places we look at was direct, let's

see what the situation there is tonight.

This is a high risk flood zone with many low-lying truly construct its

single-storey buildings. At lunchtime today and in 3000 people

were feared to be in danger from the tidal surge. The lunchtime high tide

has come and gone without incident at the wind has really got up well

as the real concerns about the high tide tonight. This afternoon the

emergency services were gathering ahead of a concerted evacuation

programme. Fire crews and police visiting homes and advising people

to to safety. Hazel who lives near the sea wall was planning to return

to a rest centre. They told us it is going to be bad tonight. At the

moment I have just come home to have a cup of tea and something to eat

and wait from a husband to come home from work. Then we will get sorted

out. Helen Davies deciding to stay. Your close of the sea wall. I am, I

have been in situations before around the weather and if you have

been through a panicking before abroad, so I have stuck things out

before so we will see how things go. Martin, he retired to his home on

stilts two years ago. I will remain until high tide when I will leave

for an hour. When it is if you come back and will come back panel

comeback. James is chief executive of the Environment Agency which

issued the severe weather warning. We will not apologise for putting

people's lives first, we know the history and we know that sadly here

in 195337 people died when the sea came over the wall. The sea came

very close in 2013 at the top of the law here in Jay Wick and we'll

always bear on the side of caution. Several hundred people could spend

the night at the rest centre, many signing in with their pets like

Gloria Carter. Joyce Holloway is here with her neighbour Charlotte.

We going home having registered, going home, having something to eat,

getting ready to come back this evening until we know it is safe to

go home. It is the worry isn't it? Everybody's been put through. And

when you get our age you don't want these worries. A police search and

rescue unit and Essex search and rescue volunteers are on hand as the

hours tick away until the next high tide just after midnight.

Let me give you some figures. The council had said that 250 tonnes of

sand bottom, 10,000 bags, people are coming of the time and filling the

bags. If you look at the properties behind me these houses which should

have been evacuated but there is a light on in every property so we

reckon about 60% of people are staying in their own homes. Let's

talk to the Flood Minister who is in Suffolk. You have been having a look

around, what is your reaction to what has gone on today? Goal I am

really impressed that people have been responding to the request to

evacuate. We are used to postal surges but this has the high wind

attached to it which is why severe warnings have been issued and it is

important that people take expert advice and if they're in that area

then do get out, there are places where you have friends and family

and the these centres that are being stuffed and I want to thank the

volunteers and council officers who are working hard to make people

comfortable. Are you disappointed that we are hearing that between 60

and 70% of people are staying in their homes? We can't force people

to leave, but they must remember back to 2013 when there was damage,

what is different this time is that we don't know quite what the impact

will be because the wind is strong but the mother wins can change

suddenly and in fact in 2013 is the wind had not dropped at a critical

moment the damage would have been worse so I want to encourage people

to think about their priorities, that we want to help them be safe

and in many places in Great Yarmouth and elsewhere along this coast,

leaving their homes and going somewhere safe is the most important

thing they can do to write. From which you are, what have you seen

that you have gone round the course? This morning I was in London and the

National Flood centre for the initial report and then today I have

been in J Wick where people are working hard, the Environment Agency

has been out deploying the barriers as was expected. Now we have seen

help from the Armed Forces comment alongside our emergency services,

they have all been really proactive and the main priority is to help

people be safe. This level of preparation should give people

confidence but it should not be complacent either. There will be

people at this to say we should do more, is the more we could do? The

government has over a six-year period in this -- is over a six-year

period investing ?2.5 million in defences around the country. The

asking the people will not vote in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft and

Felixstowe, crack and Intuit, and we continue to develop schemes where we

continue to invest and protects people as best we can but today in

particular with this insurgency high winds we want people to focus on the

safety. We are going to have a look at what

else is happening in Suffolk with Kevin Burke. Last night that

Felixstowe Ferry we watched as locals did what they could to

prepare for an onslaught. Today the moment of truth junior with high

tide expected around midday but open for business closer to the water 's

edge than most, the aptly named Spring tide fish shop. Mother nature

is a force that you can predict when she comes knocking on your door, you

have to accept that at the end of the day. It is part of living in a

coastal community. If you were to not expected then move in town! In a

car park buses were on stand-by to move residents but in the end

neither they nor the boards would slot into this gap in flood defences

were needed. The surge in 2013 game higher. Environment Agency and

police have to be with the fail-safe saw the times we get situations

where we to trigger the various levels as it has turned out we have

not got the but we do need to be ahead of the game. With the high

tide having been and gone there is the sense of relief here but not

much because a second tide is coming in later that could prove more

difficult and at the moment teams in the Environment Agency are walking

down the stretch of coast just to check now also been punched in the

sea defences because if they have the need to be plugged before the

second tide comes in. In Lowestoft the water was not as high but they

had in use for the first time ever they flood barriers. Tonight 's tide

could prove a much sterner test for the town where three years ago 165

homes and businesses were swamped. This evening there are severe flood

warnings and we are likely to test the temporary barriers. They will do

a good job and lessen the risk of flooding in the town but they don't

do the whole job. In Lowestoft that the ferry in the fairly be no wait,

one critical moment has passed but another is looming.

I have just seen a car going off with its backlight down with

sandbags, that's it for now and we will be back in Great Yarmouth and a

little while but now back to Suzy. The Government has promised that

work on several long awaited road schemes in the region will start

in the next four years. It's re-committed itself

to the projects in Cambridgeshire, and it's also given the go

ahead for a new motorway Our political correspondent

Andrew Sinclair is here. Let's start with the new

junction where will it be? It is going to be a few miles north

of Harlow and will be called Junction seven hey. There has been a

long campaign for a junction out of Harlow, the existing one is often

congested and with 15,000 new homes and business growth falling in it is

going to be needed. The county council has already agreed to part

fund the scheme, now the government suggests construction work and

starred in the next two years little to late campaigners are delighted.

It is an incredibly important moment in the town history and it will

unlock business and he is life for thousands of motorists travelling to

and from Harlow and will make it easier for businesses to come to our

town and increase jobs and prosperity for everyone. It will

make Harlow a centre of business and science Centre of excellence. What

about the other schemes? Three big projects, the widening of the A12 in

Essex and upgrading various stages of the a 47. The government promised

more than ?1 billion to fund the scheme is back in 2014 but since

then everything has gone quiet so that was starting to worry

campaigners but now things have suddenly moved forward. I raise

England saying it is launching consultations to all those plans and

saying that the work will start by 2020. There was more good news,

local councillors are getting 11.5 million this year to tackle pot

holes. Also money being made available for safety improvements on

smaller roads and that is probably it for now afford big board

announcements for the region. The budget is now allocated until well

past 2020. And Sunday politics is back this

week. Yes, taking a close look at the crisis over social care and also

Stewart has an exclusive interview with Jeremy Corbyn.

The region's business leaders were told today they could win

contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds

if the Sizewell C nuclear power station goes ahead.

Energy giant EDF, which is behind the project in Suffolk,

is urging businesses to sign up now as suppliers.

Concrete, you need an awful lot of it for a new nuclear power station.

It since this company down to the ground. It is already selling its

retaining walls to the Hinkley point station in Somerset. That is

currently under construction. Being just on the road from Sizewell puts

it in prime position to supply Hinkley's sister station. The

product can be usefully multitude of applications, from the ground works

in the initial stages to potential materials for the construction and

right through to security and many other applications so we see this as

a very long-term opportunity for our products. Today in Ipswich EDF the

company wants to build size will seek urge to local companies to

become suppliers. More than 1000 have already signed up. If you take

the example from Somerset where there's a war for under the ?60

million worth of contracts already placed, so the stage -- so the

opportunities are large especially for this region. There have been

lots of delays in getting Sizewell C of the ground, the planning

application has yet to be submitted but with Hinkley point under way the

prospect of Sizewell draws neither. It would provide 7% of the UK's

electricity was 25,000 employment opportunities through the lifetime

of the project. Most of the major components would have to be imported

but local companies like this now they can trade quite happily from

other contracts for years to come, safeguarding jobs in the Suffolk

countryside. Well, despite the bad weather,

we are expecting a full programme Snow does not affect groundsmen, it

offers insulation to the pitch to stop at freezing so no news of any

postponement. I understand Northampton have a new

manager. A familiar name, Justin Edinburgh has agreed it to have your

contract. He managed the diamonds before they went into the

illustration. He replaces Rob Pater was sacked on Monday. Edinburgh was

dismissed by Gillian and ten days ago but given the managerial

merry-go-round in football, the team's board think he's the man to

time around the fortunes. Ipswich and Norwich have games they

will be looking to win. Absolutely, they both play teams in

the championship bottom three. For now it is rotten -- Rotherham. Talks

appear to be progressing with Swansea, Robbie Brady has been

linked with a move to Burnley. No transfer news at Ipswich, it seems

to be hard work for manager of both clubs. Teams are throwing money

around that is ridiculous. Some of the words I have been hearing about,

does not compare to what we're doing so we have been having a tough but

we are doing it certainly can -- and will continue to do it. We need to

move people out before we bring people in, I don't think that is a

surprise. But we're certainly looking to do business. What is this

about MK Dons giving away free tickets to every home fan? Ironic,

in a week when Norwich gave a -- if an apology for charging too much, MK

Dons are laying on free travel for the replay, -- at the other end of

the scale MK Dons are giving away one free ticket to every fan living

in the area. The chairman is hoping to fill the stadium. There are still

a lot of people who maybe have not been to Stadium MK, they have

excuses, too busy, too expensive, but I don't want any excuses. I want

to take this chance to give everyone the opportunity to come to the

stadium. And we will have coverage of all those Broadway local station.

Thank you. More now on the predicted

storm surge, which could bring flooding to parts

of the region's coast tonight. Let's get the latest

from Stewart in Great Yarmouth. Thank you. Mike Johnson is with me

from the Environment Agency. What is the latest as far as you know?

Looking around the coast, we have many severe flood warnings here in

Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, locations on the Suffolk coast and also in

Essex, places like J Wick. There are a number of locations where we are

working closely with emergency services, where we are really

concerned about people safety and water coming over the defences. This

would be as a result of the tidal surge in strong wind. We have a

couple of hours before the high tide comes but it is a strong wind that

will make the difference. They are the uncertainty that will add that

extra dimension to the tidal surge and hence why we are, why we have

agreed with the Norfolk flood control to issue these warnings.

These winds from the north which makes it difficult. The currently

more westerly but the coming north-west and that drives the see

further down the North Sea. We have had these warnings in the past,

coupled years ago we had warnings and people say they left their homes

but actually it did not turn out too badly. And people are very

complacent about. What is your message for them? Remain vigilant,

take the advice and heed the advice of the emergency services so if they

do ask you to temporarily leave your premises I would recommend that you

do so. It is about people safety and it is a risk to life if the water

does come over. We were telling people last night and we should see

again, if you are not supposed to be here then don't be here, .com and

have a look. Absolutely, and exposed locations where there will be strong

waves crashing against defences and promenades, it is a very dangerous

place to be so please stay away. Stay indoors.

Thank you and I hope you have a quiet night. It is one of those

times, people think that my people seem to be pulling together, people

getting the sand and sandbags ready to block the front doors and make

sure what doesn't get in but from Great Yarmouth, back to you in the

studio. Well, it's not just the flooding

we've got to worry about many parts of the region had

the first taste of winter And that prompted many of you to

share your pictures on social media. Thanks to Neil Hall for this picture

of a lone figure in the snow And the snow didn't stop this

postman in Winfathing, Here's this little fella in Essex

braving the weather. But here's this little one

in Northamptonshire, who's thinking, And this really captures

the mood on social media - the snow didn't stick around

for long in some places across the region but people

made the most of it, But let's go to other

parts of the county, to Luton now where some places

saw the snow settling. And here's how parts

of Suffolk looked earlier. Back to Norfolk and this

is the scene over Norwich market. And this final picture really

captures the weather today: on one hand we have the snow

and on the other high tide bringing with it,

the risk of flooding Thanks to all of you who have been

sending in your pictures to us via Facebook, Twitter and also

to our weather watchers. We saw some snow across the region

early on this morning, this is how the radar alert when that was taking

place. Apache ski and snowboarding southwards. It did turn to more

sweet and then back to rain but since then it has to do so and once

that cleared the wind picked up and through the course of 1's time into

the afternoon we have seen winds of 45 miles an hour. It is still

costing 50 miles an hour across the north coast right now. It is the

wind causing the issues with the risk of coastal flooding, you can

see this northerly wind with tight isobars piling in. That brings the

risk this evening of fossil flooding in some parts of the region. The

next high tide is coming up this evening across the North Norfolk

coast, and gradually through the evening the title work its way down

the east coast so we're looking at roundabout nine o'clock for Great

Yarmouth, ten for Lowestoft. Half past midnight for Felix J Wick to

the quarter to one where the water will be at its highest. If you are

at all concerned about the risk of coastal flooding then do all the

flood plain number. Of course BBC local radio will keep you updated to

the evening as well. Weather-wise we have someone three showers come in

across parts of the North and into north-east suffered as well. Dry and

clear weather but very cold, 12I sweated snow flurries getting into

Northamptonshire literature make with temperatures why the below

freezing, -1 -2 but it could get locally under -3 -4 and given the

fact we have had some snow which is -- which is partially melted, that

brings the risk of ice and the Met office has issued a -- a warning for

that. He cold and icy starting Saturday, any isolated showers

tending to fade away and for many a lot of dry weather so good the

sunshine and you can see what continuous sleet and snow showers so

there could be a couple of centimetres here but for many it is

dry and cold. 3-5 but add in the wind, not as strong as the day but

it will fill quite cold a few exposed to the wind. We continue to

see sleet and snow showers but into Sunday the weather front comes in

off the Atlantic, slightly milder air trying to come in that it could

take all day before that gets to the eastern side of the region. Cloudy

with a of rain, sleet, it will be a cold feeling they and rather misty

and murky. Temperatures for our five in the east and maybe getting up at

a dizzying heights of six or seven in the West. While there does not

hang around for a long so for money into the dehydration is building in

but a lot of dry weather with sunshine by day and the chilly feel

and overnight we continue to see the risk of pretty widespread frost.

Thank you. And if you live on because they want to stay in touch

with those flood warnings then radio Norfolk and Suffolk are both staying

on the air until the danger has passed. That's all from us. We have

more tonight. Goodbye. Do they say.