AS Cumbria prepares to batten down its hatches as the second winter storm of the season approaches communities are left wondering how prepared we are for more wet weather.

Since September the county has been battered by Storm Aileen, the tail end of Hurricane Ophelia, and hundreds in Millom saw their homes flooded after a freak weather event.

This weekend the second named storm of the season, Storm Brian, will roll over the UK bringing with it high winds and heavy rain.

In light of all too recent devastation that was caused by Storm Desmond questions have rightly been asked of how communities and local authorities are prepared for extreme weather.

County councillor for Ulverston East, Mark Wilson, has said the town and surrounding area is well prepared for severe weather. Since last year the Ulverston Emergency Planning Group has met regularly to ensure the town's resilience is high.

He said: "We went around Ulverston the other day and noted that the water was still in the town's becks. Water has moved into fields where you would expect it to. We went to areas that would normally experience flooding and saw that people in the most risk had already put out a sandbags in advance."

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StormBrian?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StormBrian</a> has been named by <a href="https://twitter.com/MetEireann?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MetEireann</a> as the second storm of the season, bringing strong winds to Ireland and the UK on Saturday <a href="https://t.co/r2zxzqeSrL">pic.twitter.com/r2zxzqeSrL</a></p>— Met Office (@metoffice) <a href="https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/920995899320553472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Preparedness was key for Cllr Wilson and other members of the UEPG. The town knows too well how devastating flooding can be; as recently as August last year houses were threatened by flooding after two hours of torrential rain.

For people in Millom the news a fresh storm is approaching is news none of them wanted to hear. Early this month half a foot of water fell in the space of a few hours, catching residents completely unprepared.

As houses wrecked by flood waters still dry out the town's mayor, cllr Angela Dixon, said the community was bracing itself.

"We're hoping that it won't happen again," she said. "But you never say never. We don't know what will happen with the weather these days. A lot of people are very nervous as they've been through it all."

Since the flooding in Millom Cllr Dixon has said the county council have been out in force cleaning drains and gullies. She said: "We've seen more drain cleaners on the roads than we've seen in the past 10 years."

County and UK wide agencies are preparing themselves for a wet weekend. The Environment Agency and Cumbria County Council have deployed manpower and resources to areas which could see the worst of the weather and have issued advice for anyone in flood-risk locations.

Alison Baptiste, national flood duty manager for the Environment Agency, said: "Strong winds are expected across southern England on Friday night and into Saturday.

“We urge people to stay safe along the coast and warn against putting yourself in unnecessary danger by taking ‘storm selfies’ or driving through flood water – just 30cm is enough to move your car. Environment Agency teams are on the ground checking defences and taking precautionary measures such as closing tidal gates."

A spokesman from the county council said its employees were also on alert for any instances of flooding.

He said: "There are regular road and bridge inspections as well as gully clearance and checks on priority routes since last week.

"Teams mobilised for weekend and overnight cover and there is regular dialogue with regional partners including the Environment Agency, Cumbria Police, the Met Office and the Department for Transport."

Cllr Wilson concluded by saying: "We've people in place watching and listening and caring for people. If worst comes to worst we are there to help them."

How to stay up to date with flood alerts:

A vast array of support is available to members of the public who may be concerned they are at risk of flooding.

The Met Office and Environment Agency provide regular forecasts and updates on areas at risk of flooding, as well as providing flood updates directly to residents.

Alison Baptiste, national flood duty manager for the Environment Agency said: "We’re working with partners including the Met Office and local authorities to monitor the situation and are ready to respond as necessary.

"Where necessary we will issue flood warnings and alerts. You can check whether you’re affected by visiting www.gov.uk/flood.

“These are updated every 15 minutes and we will issue further alerts and warnings as needed, you can sign up to receive alerts and warnings for free by calling 0345 988 1188."

Live updates on where flood warnings have been issued can also be found by visiting www.flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/warnings.