FLOOD warnings have been issued for the Petersfield area and the rest of East Hampshire this week in the wake of torrential rain and with more forecast later this week.

The Environment Agency is asking people to be vigilant as river levels across the area are rising.

A spokesman said there was a threat that heavy rainfall could lead to flooding of rivers and streams which were already swollen from downpours during the past few days

ÒThe relatively dry weather over the last couple of months has meant that the water has been able to drain better than usual but as the ground becomes more saturated the rivers will respond quicker to additional rainfall.Ó

During torrential rain and gale-force winds on Saturday, Petersfield police were inundated with emergency calls from late morning onwards.

There was flash flooding on roads, trees down and alarms set off after being battered by high winds.

But police were pleased to report there were no road incidents as a result of the weather.

Hampshire County CouncilÕs area surveyor had 16 reported incidents of trees and flooding in the area, including a tree which had fallen in Kiln Lane at Buriton and another in Huntsbottom Lane at Liss.

Flooding was reported on roads, but no properties were affected, said police.

Extra contractors were called in to help county council emergency teams to deal with the calls as quickly as possible.

A spokesman for S+S, formerly Southern Electric, told The Herald that at the height of SaturdayÕs gales around 25,000 householders across its area were without electricity.

In the Petersfield district 2,000 homes suffered power cuts. At Rogate a tree fell on to electricity supply lines, cutting power to part of the village.

In Liss, some homes lost power when a supply pole was blown over to 45 degrees.

Power was restored in both these areas by the end of the night, but engineers were still working on cables to individual homes the following day.

Two blocks of flats in Petersfield were damaged when a section of roofing was torn off in high winds.

Part of the asphalt roof on Winton Court blew off and hit neighbouring Ashcroft Court, damaging outside wall tiles and balconies.

Last September the Environment Agency launched a major campaign warning of the dangers of flooding in the wake of the dramatic events of a year ago, when many parts of Britain suffered severe damage and disruption.

The agency said that only one person in ten had taken any action to prepare for flooding. The finding came as scientists confirmed evidence of increasing winter rainfall and river flow extremes over the past 40 years.

A year ago many householders in the Petersfield area suffered the misery of flooding after heavy rainfall saturated the ground and swelled the River Meon, causing it to break its banks.

The western Rother at Liss also ran at record levels and a lake which feeds the river broke its banks and destroyed a nearby road.

The wet weather turned fields to muddy lakes and caused the closure of many of East HampshireÕs low-lying country lanes.