UK storms: 100mph winds hit in 'almost unparalleled natural crisis'
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26153889
BBC reporter Jon Kay is hit by a huge wave at Lyme Regis Cobb, in Dorset
Winds
gusting over 100mph are lashing parts of the UK in what the assistant
chief of the defence staff describes an "almost unparalleled natural
crisis".
It comes after the Met Office issues its first "red warning"
of the winter, meaning there is a "risk to life", with widespread damage
expected.Power to thousands of homes has been cut off and transport has been disrupted by the hurricane-force winds.
Sixteen severe flood warnings remain for Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset.
Assistant chief of the defence staff Major General Patrick Sanders, who is coordinating the armed forces response, described the floods as an "almost unparalleled natural crisis".
In the Commons, David Cameron repeated his pledge that "money is no object in this relief effort".
He unveiled a package of measures to help businesses and homeowners repairing flood-damaged property to build in new defences and said small businesses affected by flooding would get 100% relief from business rates.
Strong winds have been sweeping through swathes of the UK
In the Republic of Ireland, more than a quarter of a million homes are without power. Counties Cork and Kerry have been worst affected by the high winds.
Elsewhere in the UK, 8,100 homes are without power in south-west England and 10,000 in the West Midlands are also cut off.
Strong winds tore the roof of Limerick Boat Club in the Republic of Ireland
Gusts of 110mph were recorded at sea off the coast of the southern Irish Republic while at Mumbles Head, South Wales, 92mph was recorded.
Electric power cables and trees have been brought down by winds of up to 94mph, blocking roads in Devon and Cornwall.
West Wales and north-west England are the areas likely to get hit by high-speed winds, the Met Office has said.They advised people to change their travel plans during the storm-force winds.
The advice came as it was announced that the West Coast Main Line will close at 19:00 GMT due to high winds. Robin Gisby, managing director for network operations at Network Rail, said it would be closed for a couple of hours.
The M6 Thelwall Viaduct has been closed in both directions between junctions 20 and 21 and drivers have been warned by the Highways Agency to expect delays.
BBC forecaster Darren Bett told the News Channel red weather warnings were very rare.
"You usually get one or two per year. It's the highest level of alert - it's very serious, it's life threatening and it means people should take action now. It does not get any worse than that," he says.
Other updates include:
- The QEII bridge at the Dartford crossing in Kent has been closed due to high winds
- Shannon airport in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland has also been shut because of strong wind and an empty aircraft at the airport was tipped over onto its wing
- There are still major disruptions for several rail services, with severe delays between Reading and London due to flooding near Maidenhead
- BBC forecasters say a month's worth of rainfall is expected to fall in parts of southern England over the next few days
- The Environment Agency warns more homes will be flooded as rivers in Herefordshire and Worcestershire continue rising
- Staff from the agency were withdrawn from Wraysbury, Berkshire, for a short time following verbal abuse by some local people
- The latest maps showing how the UK is being affected can be found here.
Further evacuations have been carried out in Egham, Surrey
Residents in Egham make their way through a flooded street
Waters in Worcester continue to rise
High waves crash against the promenade in Dover, Kent
But Labour leader Ed Miliband said he had doubts about this "grand promise" of financial help and those still at risk needed a "speedier response".
Cameras have been allowed to film a Cobra emergency meeting for the first time
Continue reading the main story
A hunched convoy of people wearing high-vis jackets shuttles up and down the muddy path, trying to keep a walkway open between cut-off communities.
Fighting back the tears, one woman told me she had to get out of her house and do something - anything - to take her mind off the relentless flooding and the sight of the lake at her back door.
There are no familiar landmarks and no sign of an end in sight. After weeks of living on a waterlogged land, the emotional impact is really beginning to show.
At the scene in Somerset
In the driving rain, battered by the gale force winds whipping up waves on the inland sea that's now the Somerset Levels, residents and volunteers load wood chips onto wheelbarrows to lay on the banks of the River Parrett.A hunched convoy of people wearing high-vis jackets shuttles up and down the muddy path, trying to keep a walkway open between cut-off communities.
Fighting back the tears, one woman told me she had to get out of her house and do something - anything - to take her mind off the relentless flooding and the sight of the lake at her back door.
There are no familiar landmarks and no sign of an end in sight. After weeks of living on a waterlogged land, the emotional impact is really beginning to show.
He urged the government to
reconsider planned cuts to the Environment Agency and said it should be
spending more on flood defences in the future to make the UK more
resilient.
Mr Cameron accused his Labour counterpart of "dividing the
nation" over the issue of flooding at a time when the country should be
pulling together in the face of adversity.BBC News Channel chief political correspondent Norman Smith said: "I think it's true to say that Mr Cameron won himself big and bold headlines with his assertion that money was no object.
"But today that assertion is looking a lot less big and bold and may in fact be much more of a political millstone.
"This is because we have learned this is not new money, this is money from existing departmental contingency budgets and this means that money is much more limited."
A source accused critics of "deliberate mischief making" by suggesting the prime minister was backtracking on his commitment to provide whatever money was necessary for the current crisis.
BBC Weather forecaster John Hammond
Chancellor George Osborne was among those at the meeting even though he does not normally attend - our correspondent said this was "to rein in any of his colleagues who suddenly thought that the coffers were open and they could help themselves".
Continue reading the main story
David Cameron's cash promise refers to flood relief - it's not a blank cheque for flood defences.
This government's floods spending is lower than the previous Labour government (although total spending is higher thanks to local councils).
And what's more, ministers are ignoring their own climate change advisers, who say that the cost of flood damage in the UK is likely to increase from £1bn to £3bn as the world warms.
They say another £0.5bn must be spent over four years just to keep pace with the climate - and this figure may go up following the current shocking floods.
Government rules will come under scrutiny too. Every £1 spent on flood defences gives £8 of benefit. Yet other schemes - like a relief road in Hastings - have no proven benefit.
Follow Roger on Twitter @rharrabin
Analysis
This government's floods spending is lower than the previous Labour government (although total spending is higher thanks to local councils).
And what's more, ministers are ignoring their own climate change advisers, who say that the cost of flood damage in the UK is likely to increase from £1bn to £3bn as the world warms.
They say another £0.5bn must be spent over four years just to keep pace with the climate - and this figure may go up following the current shocking floods.
Government rules will come under scrutiny too. Every £1 spent on flood defences gives £8 of benefit. Yet other schemes - like a relief road in Hastings - have no proven benefit.
Follow Roger on Twitter @rharrabin
Environment Agency chief
executive Paul Leinster told the committee that water levels could rise
to "higher than current levels" over the weekend, with particular
concerns about the Thames between Oxford to Maidenhead and also below
Maidenhead.
'Unprecedented' flooding
More than 1,000 homes have been evacuated along the Thames
after towns and villages including Wraysbury, Chertsey and Datchet were
flooded.Chief Supt Matt Twist, of Surrey Police, said the flooding in the county was "unprecedented" and warned that a further 2,500 homes were at risk.
An 85-year-old resident forced to leave her bungalow in one Surrey village spent the night at an evacuation centre.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was a "terrible experience". "I want to go, I want to get out of it [community evacuation centre] really, because you can't live like this, can you?
"I know everybody's in the same boat but I can't go back home."
Further evacuations have been
taking place in the Staines and Egham area. Almost 6,000 properties have
been flooded altogether in the past two months.
About 100 properties remain flooded on the Somerset Levels,
where extra pumps are being brought in from the Netherlands, and
groundwater flooding is also expected in the coming days in Hampshire,
Kent and parts of London.As well as 16 severe flood warnings, the Environment Agency has also issued about 400 less serious flood warnings and alerts, mostly in southern England and the Midlands.
The agency said it looked "increasingly likely" there would be problems along the River Severn and River Wye.
And it said groundwater levels were so high in some parts of the country that flooding was likely to persist for weeks or even months flooding was likely to persist for weeks or even months.
Continue reading the main story
Thames Valley flooding
1,135
homes flooded since 29 January-
2,500 homes at risk
-
30,000 sandbags distributed
-
5,800 homes flooded since Dec
-
£630m economic damage
Nation-wide
AP
Are you in the affected areas? Have you been affected by the flooding? Email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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