LONDON, Feb 8 — Much of southern England faces more heavy rainfall and winds of up to 80 mph (129 kilometers an hour) today after Royal Marines, police and fire teams helped evacuate homes where flood defenses were breached.
Following two months of rain and storms that have drenched the UK, about 60 homes were evacuated yesterday after a flood barrier in Somerset gave way. Prime Minister David Cameron later visited the county following criticism his government cut funds for flood defense and failed to do enough to avert disaster, including dredging riverbeds.
“We have got to do everything we can to help,” Cameron said. “We will be dredging to make sure these rivers can carry a better capacity of water, so there are lessons to be learned and I’ll make sure they’re learned.”
The Environment Agency was today reporting two severe weather warnings for the southwest, indicating potential danger to life. It also said that the coastlines of the counties of Devon and Dorset are at”significant risk” of new flooding as high tides and winds arrive. There are more than 300 low-level flood alerts and nearly 200 medium-risk flood warnings in place across England and Wales.
More than 7,500 UK homes have been engulfed, and coastal defenses battered, since the start of December. The southeast had its wettest January on record, while the east coast was hit by the biggest tidal surge in 60 years. Wales had its highest tides since 1997. All roads to the communities of Muchelney and Thorney in Somerset have been cut off since Christmas Eve. — Bloomberg
