The Environment Agency is urging communities in England to remain vigilant against the threat of flooding with flood warnings and alerts remaining in place across the country.

Flooding is expected to cause continued disruption to communities in South Yorkshire, and parts of Lincolnshire and the north Midlands into next week. Areas of Gloucestershire around the River Severn, and near the River Avon in Worcestershire and Warwickshire are expected to be affected by flooding until Monday.

More localised flooding is also possible in the east and north-east of England on Sunday, due to the potential for further rain or showers falling on wet ground.

Environment Agency teams have been working around the clock to protect communities from flooding. Incident rooms will remain open across the weekend to monitor the unsettled weather forecast.

Over 21,000 properties have been protected by flood defences in England, since the flooding began, including nearly 7,000 properties in Yorkshire alone. Other areas protected include:

• 5, 713 properties in the West Midlands
• 1,000 properties in the East Midlands
• 2,230 properties in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire
• 5,202 properties in the Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire

There are now over 400 EA operational staff working 24/7 on flooded sites across the country pumping water and erecting temporary barriers to help better protect more homes and businesses against further flooding. We currently have 53 high volume pumps, including three ultra-high volume units, extracting 21 cubic metres of water per second to help protect homes and business in South Yorkshire. If pumping in Fishlake continues at the current rate, properties should be free of floodwater by Sunday.

Kate Marks, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

Communities in northern England, northern and western parts of the Midlands should remain vigilant to the risk of flooding this weekend as rain from recent days flows through river systems. Please continue to check flood warnings.

Over 21,000 properties have been protected from flooding thanks to Environment Agency flood schemes. Our teams will continue to work around the clock maintaining flood defences, erecting temporary barrriers, clearing river blockages, and monitoring river levels

Every flooded home is a personal tragedy and our thoughts are with those who have been affected and those waiting to return to their homes

Our incident rooms remain open 24 hours a day and we are continuing to work closely with local authorities and partners.

The public are advised to stay away from swollen rivers and not to walk or drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car. People can check their flood risk and keep up to date with the latest situation, or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or following @EnvAgency on Twitter. .