Towns and villages already devastated by Storm Dennis are preparing for more flooding misery after the UK was hit by more torrential rain yesterday.
Forecasters warned that a month’s worth of rain could fall over 24 hours in the worst-hit areas.
It comes as Conservative MPs in flood-hit constituencies criticised the Government’s slow financial response to the crisis and urged Whitehall to make more money available for flood defences.
Thousands of properties have been evacuated across England and Wales after the weekend weather chaos led to ‘unprecedented’ flooding.
Towns and villages already devastated by Storm Dennis are preparing for more flooding misery after the UK was hit by more torrential rain yesterday. Pictured: Aerial view of Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, where residents are still on high alert as the town sits surrounded by water
Forecasters warned that a month’s worth of rain could fall over 24 hours in the worst-hit areas. Pictured: Riverside Caravan Park Houses surrounded by flood water in in Bridgnorth, Shropshire
It comes as Conservative MPs in flood-hit constituencies criticised the Government’s slow financial response to the crisis Pictured: One family enters their home in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, as pumps and flood barriers help to keep the water from flooding the properties
After three days battling against rising water levels, officials yesterday warned that the new wave of bad weather has created a ‘heightened flood risk’ across the country.
Severe flood alerts – meaning there is a ‘risk to life’ – remained in place last night along the Severn and Wye rivers, which have reached record-breaking levels.
Forecasters warned that heavy rain could fall on areas where the ground is already saturated from Dennis and Storm Ciara, which struck just a week before.
Last night, rescuers were searching for a missing 87-year-old woman who is feared to have fallen into the River Exe near her home town of Tiverton, Devon.
It came as residents in Ironbridge, Shropshire, breathed a sigh of relief after emergency flood defences managed to keep the swollen Severn at bay.
Up to 30 riverside properties were evacuated amid fears that water could breach barriers and engulf the town. But only a handful of properties were affected as the Environment Agency said that its protective measures had so far worked.
Last night, rescuers were searching for a missing 87-year-old woman who is feared to have fallen into the River Exe near her home town of Tiverton, Devon. Pictured: One of the rescue teams
Thousands of properties have been evacuated across England and Wales after the weekend weather chaos led to ‘unprecedented’ flooding. Pictured: Flooded homes on the banks of the River Severn in Worcester
There was further relief in Bewdley, which straddles the Severn north of Worcester, after defences ‘held up’ despite water reaching near-record levels.
Met Office heavy rain warnings are in place today for parts of Wales, which has experienced some of the worst flooding.
There are further rain warnings in place for north-west England and southern Scotland today, as well as Yorkshire and the North East tomorrow.
Craig Snell, from the Met Office, said: ‘Hot on the heels of Storm Dennis, we have now got this next weather system coming through.
‘We have a cluster of warnings around the UK. In the worst case scenario, we could see a month’s worth of rain.’
Storm Dennis has been linked to five deaths and the Environment Agency yesterday said that 645 properties in England had been flooded.
Kate Marks, of the agency, said that although Storm Dennis had long passed ‘we’ll be feeling the impacts for a few more days’.
She added: ‘There’s a lot more water in the river systems. In particular, we are worried about the rivers Severn, Teme and Wye.’
Meanwhile, Calder Valley’s Tory MP Craig Whittaker said the Government’s response to flooding had been inadequate.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he had been ‘hammering on doors on Whitehall’ since the flooding began ten days ago to get ministers to trigger its emergency funding scheme, which was finally announced on Tuesday night.
His West Yorkshire constituency saw almost 1,200 properties flooded when Ciara dumped 4in of rain in less than 18 hours.
Mr Whittaker said: ‘The sad thing is all this funding package announced last night comes from about seven different departments and when you don’t have a situation where you’ve got all ministers in one room, getting them to sign off is just incredibly difficult.’
Shrewsbury’s Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski yesterday said he would be lobbying for extra money to pay for better flood defences and to compensate businesses affected.
He said: ‘If we can afford £106million for HS2, then I think we can afford funding from Defra [Department for Food and Rural Affairs] for more flood alleviation schemes.’
On Tuesday, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said he would release state aid for flooded homes and businesses worth up to £5,000 per property.