As a band of wet weather spreads across the UK, the Environment Agency has issued eight new flood alerts in south-west England, despite the country facing severe drought.

The Environment Agency has warned that Rivers Coley, Upper and Lower Axe, Char, Upper and Lower Otter, Taw and Wriggle are likely to break their banks due to a week of heavy rain. In the new flood warning, residents of the areas near the rivers have been asked to take immediate steps to protect themselves.

The government agency has also issued lower level flood alerts in 22 areas of southern England along with weather warnings in Wales. The agency earlier predicted around 40mm downpour on Wednesday, with rain for the rest of the week across the country.

Earlier, heavy rain was predicted only in the south of England and Wales. But, now increased showers in the north of England and eastern Scotland are expected as Thursday approaches. The flood alert has come just few days after areas including South West, South East, Anglian region, Midlands and parts of Yorkshire were declared to be in drought zone.

“It’s going to take more than a week or two of rain to undo the effects of nearly two years of below-average rainfall. The recent rain is good for farmers and gardeners, and the cool temperatures ease the pressure on fish and wildlife in rivers. But with dry soils most of the rain will be soaked up - or, worse still, run off quickly if the surface is compacted, causing flash floods”, said Trevor Bishop, head of water resources at the Environment Agency.

Related: Drought affects larger parts of England