UK Flood Chaos and Devastation continues
Pastor Dale Morgan
UK Flood Chaos and Devastation continues *
Flooding in Catcliffe, South Yorkshire
Insurers says the cost of the floods will run into hundreds of millions
Hundreds of families are still unable to return to their homes as floods
continue to affect parts of England.
The weather has now claimed four lives including a 14-year-old boy and a
county court judge from Worcestershire.
Flood water is continuing to rise in some areas, although forecasters do
not expect a repeat of Monday's deluge.
The Queen has expressed her shock at the devastation caused by the
flooding. She said her thoughts were with people who had lost family,
friends and homes.
The floods have been most severe in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the
Midlands.
Sandbags
In South Yorkshire, army personnel are moving sandbags in to reinforce
the bank of the River Don after it burst its banks. An RAF helicopter is
helping to shore up another part of the overflowing river.
Hundreds of families in the area remain in temporary accommodation.
And the search for a man reported to have fallen into a flooded drainage
dyke near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, has been called off.
Police divers searched the water course after a woman reported hearing a
man shouting for help, but found nothing. Nobody has been reported missing.
In other key developments:
# Dozens of people have been moved out of their homes in the village of
Toll Bar, near Doncaster, and locals say the water has continued to rise
# Firefighters have rescued 25 people from cottages in the village of
Powick, near Worcester, overnight
# Residents of Bransby, Lincs, have been evacuated to Lincoln College,
joining 20 people who spent the night there
# Engineers are continuing their attempts to secure the Ulley dam, South
Yorks, amid fears it could collapse and swamp nearby villages.
The Association of British Insurers says the overall cost of the floods
will run into hundreds of millions.
They urged ministers to improve flood defences and warned that about one
in four people did not have contents insurance, so would not be covered
for flood damage.
'Heartfelt thanks'
Ministers have offered emergency aid to the worst affected areas to help
with the cost of the clear-up.
UK TRANSPORT UPDATE
The M1 in South Yorkshire was closed early on Tuesday and reopened on
Wednesday afternoon
A1 in Newark closed in both directions
Network Rail says services including the east coast mainline are fully
open but subject to some disruption
In a message issued to 11 Lord Lieutenancy offices, the Queen expressed
her admiration for the emergency services, the local authorities and
volunteers "working tirelessly to help those affected".
She expressed her "heartfelt thanks" to everyone concerned with the
relief efforts.
And Clarence House said the Prince of Wales will visit some of the
flooding victims on Friday when he is due in the Peak District for a
series of engagements.
David Rooke, head of flood risk at the Environment Agency, said on
Monday morning the situation was "still very difficult" in parts of
Yorkshire and the Midlands.
"But the situation is improving, river levels are dropping and obviously
a massive clean up is under way," he said.
Baroness Young, the head of the Environment Agency, has blamed
inadequate funding for the agency's failure to get the country's flood
defences ready to cope with the rainfall.
She told MPs on the Commons public accounts committee that she rejected
the charge that she had "manifestly failed" and should consider resigning.
In South Yorkshire, about 700 people have left the villages of Whiston,
Canklow, and Catcliffe and Treeton, because of the risk of the Ulley dam
bursting and are not expected to return home until Thursday.
In Sheffield, most of the people in emergency shelters have returned
home but they face temporary power shutdowns as electricity supplies are
restored.
Flood deaths
On Monday, a pensioner died after he was caught in rising floodwater in
Sheffield. He was named by South Yorkshire Police as Peter Harding, 68.
In a separate incident in the city a 14-year-old boy, named as Ryan Joe
Parry, was killed after falling into the River Sheaf at Millhouses.
A third person, Mike Barnett, 28, died after becoming trapped in a storm
drain in Hull.
The fourth victim of the flooding, Eric Dickinson, 68, was swept away by
rising flood waters in Pershore, Worcestershire.
A search had been launched for Mr Dickinson, a county court judge, who
lived in Leigh, near Pershore, after he telephoned his wife on his
mobile phone to raise the alarm.
Tony Blair, in his last day as prime minister, expressed sympathy for
the families of the dead and said more money would need to be spent on
flood prevention.
Flooding in Catcliffe, South Yorkshire
Residents have left their homes in the village of Catcliffe
"I think we should all send our condolences and sympathy to the families
of those that have lost their lives," he told the House of Commons.
The Environment Agency still has several severe flood warnings in place,
and forecasters are warning that flood-hit areas could be hit by more
rain at the weekend.
The Environment Agency has advised people worried about flooding to call
its Flood Line on 08459 881 188.