The flooding in Cumbria is continuing to cause misery for thousands of people and as often happens in these situations, attention has turned onto whether the government has done enough to protect people.
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Britain’s Met Office said new rainfall records were set for both 24 and 48-hour periods, both in Cumbria.
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for rain and wind across northern England and Scotland, with gusts of up to 70 miles per hour predicted.
Councillor John McCreesh, Cumbria County Council Cabinet member responsible for Trading Standards, said: “The contribution of local communities has been both vital and outstanding, it’s a shame now that some individuals may look to take advantage of those affected”.
The Glenridding hotel said it is in need of more sandbags “to try and cope with it”.
Speaking about his trip, Rizwan said: “It was really bad, the flood defences in these areas were terrible and everything was under water”.
Cumbria Police said up to 6,425 properties could have been flooded, but the most likely scenario was that 4,881 have been affected.
“Households are going to need support to get back on their feet and manage while they are unable to return home and we know from experience that businesses will need potentially significant help to bounce back”.
The announcement was welcomed by the Confederation for British Industry (CBI), which added that more money was needed to shore up flood defences against future storms.
The West Coast Main Line rail link from London to Glasgow has also been hit, with northbound services halting at the Scottish border due to flooding.
Electricity North West said yesterday that engineers had restored power to all but 2,525 homes in Lancaster and 1,514 in Cumbria affected over the weekend.
More than 5,000 homes in Cumbria and Lancashire were flooded from the heavy rains that Storm Desmond dumped on the region over the weekend, with many towns and streets partially underwater.
A total of 131 bridges remain closed having been identified as being of strategic importance and requiring immediate inspection.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the Government of failing in its efforts to tackle flood defences.
In the face of mounting criticism that it failed to keep the deluge of water out of people’s homes, the Government said it will “look again” at flood defences. But this has proved to be yet another false promise.
Mr Clark said leading insurance firms had given him a “cast iron guarantee that they stand ready and have the capacity to respond straight away to all of their customers”.
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This Lancashire Flood Recovery Funds Appeal complements the Community Foundation for Cumbrias Recovery Fund recently launched for the victims of wide-spread flooding in the Lake District.
