Scale of Cumbrian flood damage is revealed as families return home

Nov 24 2009 by Michael Wood, The Journal

Investment in flood defences is set to reach £800m by next year, he said in a speech to the CBI conference in London.

Mr Brown’s spokesman said Highways Agency bridges in Cumbria – which carry the main arterial roads and motorways – had been checked and cleared.

He said: “Government and local councils will do everything to help local people rebuild their lives.

“The most immediate concern is to get people back into their homes and to get them fed and keep them warm, as well as to ensure we can start the structural review of bridges.”

But fresh questions were asked about whether more could have been done to guard against the floods.

Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Tim Farron said: “If ministers were serious about reducing the risk of flooding, they should have stepped up efforts to invest in flood relief schemes in areas of particular risk before it was too late.

“The Government’s flood prevention system has been chaotic and confused with no single body in control, while its early warning system has at times defied all sense.”

Tom Foulkes, director general of the Institution of Civil Engineers, said the floods had shown once again how vulnerable Britain’s infrastructure was in the face of extreme conditions.

He said: “It is vital we invest in protecting and maintaining critical infrastructure to reduce the risk of system failure and ensure we are better protected against future crises.

“Failure to do this means we will be left as vulnerable to critical infrastructure failure as we are to natural disasters.”

Cumbria Police chief constable Craig Mackey warned that it could take Cumbria years to recover from the damage caused by the floods.

He said: “What will distinguish this from many other floodings across the country is the length of time the recovery phase will take. We will be working with our communities for weeks, months, and in some cases years to come.”

Cumbria County Council said 13 primary schools and five secondary schools were closed yesterday, with the majority hoping to reopen today.

Fresh tributes were paid to the hero policeman who died in the storm as the inquest into his death was opened and adjourned.

Pc Bill Barker, 44, was directing motorists away from Northside Bridge in Workington when it collapsed at about 4.40am on Friday morning, plunging him into the the River Derwent. His body was found later that day.

Mr Mackey said the force had lost a “true friend”, adding: “Bill is a hero who died saving the lives of others and our thoughts are with his family at this devastating time.”

The flooding was caused by “unprecedented” amounts of rainfall at the end of last week – some parts of Cumbria saw more than 12 inches in 24 hours.

The bad weather also affected other parts of the country. Environment Agency contractor Michael Streeter died maintaining defences in West Sussex, canoeist Chris Wheeler, 46, from Reading, died after becoming trapped under his boat on the River Dart in Devon on Saturday, and a woman is missing in Wales.

Page 3: A very unhappy homecoming