Anxious wait for Broads pike anglers

Pike anglers across East Anglia are bracing themselves for the worst as they wait for the scale of damage salt tides have done to the rivers Yare and Waveney to become clear.

Hundreds of families were evacuated from their homes as a North Sea storm surge sparked flood warnings around the East Coast.

While most parts of the region escaped disaster by inches - as the highest tides for 50 years lashed the coastline - the surge had forced salt water far inland by Friday lunchtime.

The RSPB said "large numbers" of fish had died as saltwater inundated its Strumpshaw Fen reserve, of the Yare between Rockland Broad and Brundall.

The damage is likely to become clear over the weekend, as anglers return to the Yare, Rockland, the Waveney and Oulton Broad.

Broads braced for storm tide floods

Severe flood warnings were in place across the Broads last night as a combination of strong north-westerly winds, low air pressure and high tides triggered a 10ft storm surge in the North Sea.

The Yare and Waveney, along with their broads, were expected to bear the brunt of flooding, with this morning's high tides sending salt water upstream.

Flood watches were also in place along the Thurne system, whose northern broads are among the most at risk from the sea, with budget cuts meaning maintenance of coastal defences is being scaled back.

The Environment Agency said there were "extreme risks to life and property" from Great Yarmouth to Lowestoft and along the coasts of Essex and Kent.

Thousands were being evacuated from their homes along the Suffolk coast, with many spending the night at leisure centres in Lowestoft and Leiston, and Beccles Town Hall.

Experts said improved sea defences, weather forecasting and communications would avert a repeat of the 1953 floods, where hundreds died in what was dubbed Britain's worst natural disaster.

But thousands of low-lying homes were feared to be at risk, as emergency services across eastern England prepared to deal with the aftermath.

Chilling scenario - see graphics and commentary on the BBC website.

Severe flood warnings on Waveney, Yare

The Environment Agency has tonight issued a severe flood warning on the tidal Waveney below Ellingham and the Yare below Thorpe St Andrew, Norwich, as the East Coast prepared itself fo the worst floods in more than half a century.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is chairing a meeting of the Government's COBRA emergency committee as the Environment Agency warned of "extreme danger to life and property" in parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, while part of Kent, East Yorkshire and :incolnshire are also under flood alert.

Earlier, Environment Minister Hilary Benn told MPs: "A tidal surge of up to 3m [10ft] is making its way down the North Sea which could coincide with peak high tides.

"There is a risk of flood defences being over-topped on the coast and in tidal rivers, especially in East Anglia, particularly the Norfolk Broads and the coast south of Great Yarmouth including Lowestoft, and areas south of this as far as the coast of Kent."

Experts said the surge was almost as high as the one which caused the 1953 floods in which more than 300 people died.

It is caused by a combination of north-westerly gales, low air pressure and high tides. Homes are being evacuated tonight in areas which are expected to be worst-hit.

High tide is expected around 7am in Norfolk.

Broadland flood warnings - 5pm update

Pike anglers fishing the tidal rivers and broads of Norfolk and Suffolk are being urged to take extreme care on Friday and over the weekend, after the Environment Agency issued Severe Flood Warnings for much of the East Coast.

High winds and a low pressure system are expected to create a tidal surge which could see localised flooding from Wells-next-Sea in North Norfolk to Essex and the Thames Estuary.

The most severe flooding is expected around Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and parts of the Broads.

If the forecast surge materialises, rivers could rise higher than normal on Friday's flood tide - which is expected to peak around 7 - 8am. As the tide turns and ebbs later in the morning, rivers could be subject to heavier flows than normal.

Flood watch warnings are tonight in place on the rivers Yare, Waveney, Ant, Bure and Thurne, along with parts of the Fens including the tidal Ouse.

The Environment Agency said the expected storm surge building in the North Sea was just 30cm (around a foot...) lower than that which caused the floods of 1953 - Britain's greatest natural disaster, which killed more than 300.

EA Flood Watch

BBC report

1953 floods - special report

Flood warnings for Broadland rivers

The Environment Agency is today issuing warnings for East Anglia's tidal rivers including the Bure, Ant, Thurne, Yare and Waveney.

Officials are expecting high tides and localised flooding tomorrow morning (Friday, November 9) on areas such as Brundall riverside, downstream from Norwich.

Warnings in place are currently Flood Watch - the lowest category. To monitor the situation, click here to see the current status.

Broads should recover from salt tides - EA

Norfolk's pike fishing mecca does not appear to have been harmed by last winter's storm surges, the Environment Agency said today.

Anglers feared the worst as gales lashed the East Coast last November, driving salt tides higher than normal up the rivers Yare and Thurne.

But a report in Angle - the EA's magazine for anglers in East Anglia - says: "The tidal flooding of the Broads last November should have little effect on fish stocks, and anglers can look forward to a good season's sport."

The EA adds the storm surge, on November 1, was the highest since the 1953 floods, which killed more than 40 people as the sea broke through defences.

"It was one of the worst incidents of fish deaths from natural causes in the Norfolk Broads in the last 15 years. Thousands of fish died."

But hundreds of thousands more were saved by flood barriers at Potter Heigham boatyards, which were packed with juvenile silver fish.

Mortality was worst on the Yare, where dead fish were seen upstream of Brundall. While it is difficult to assess how badly pike were affected, few were seen amid the large numbers of silver fish.

The EA's Graham Gamble said: "It was mainly the young fish which were lost and the numbers will be replenished naturally. I don't think anyone will notice any big difference this coming year."

But while a once in 50 year storm tide is not the end of fishing, such tides are predicted to become more common as sea levels rise and our climate changes.

There is already controversy over the way Broadland rivers are managed to contain water, rather than allow it to flood onto marshland as it has for centuries.

Storm tide surge spares Yare

Pike anglers in Norfolk are breathing a sigh of relief today when it emerged the River Yare had been spared a repeat of last October's salt surges, which killed pike and other coarse fish in the river and its broads.

The EA, which monitors salinity in the river, said the salt water had not travelled far above Cantley and the northerly gales had not caused the salt water to hold up in the river between tides.

Zander caught in River Yare

A 6lbs zander has been caught in Norfolk's River Yare, prompting fears the species has been illegally introduced to the Broads, it emerged today.

Nick King from Norwich caught the fish at Surlingham on a sardine intended for pike. A picture of the fish appears in today's Eastern Daily Press.

EA fisheries officer Nigel Gamble told the Norwich-based paper: "This zander was transported alive from the West Norfolk or Cambridgeshire fens and placed in the River Yare.

"This was an unlawful act on a number of counts and once caught, the fish should not have been returned to the water alive.

"The captor should have killed it immediately or telephoned our hotline for one of our officers to visit the venue and knock it on the head."