He tweeted: “The government should divert some of the ballooning foreign aid budget to help those affected by Storm Desmond”.
Advertisement
A spell of persistent rain, heavy at times, is expect to affect parts of Scotland and Cumbria later today onwards into the night.
Liz Truss, the Environment Secretary, has also defended the Government’s flood spending.
On Saturday, a man died after being blown into a bus by high winds in London.
Homes and businesses have been devastated by record rainfall, and the extreme weather has claimed three lives.
Chris Missen, a volunteer for Royal National Lifeboat Institution, told The Guardian that the conditions in Cumbria were unprecedented.
Virgin Trains said it is hopeful the west coast rail route will be reopened by midday, after flood water north of Carlisle fell quicker than predicted.
Electricity North West said 61,000 properties lost power across Heysham, Morecambe, Carnforth and Lancaster. If confirmed, it will be a new British record.
Labour highlighted what it said was cuts in funding for flood defences.
More than 100 flood warnings and alerts remain in place in England and Wales, with over 20 in Scotland.
Cumbria Police said up to 6,425 properties could have been flooded, but the most likely scenario was that 4,881 have been affected.
Ms Truss earlier told Sky News: “It delayed the floods so it gave us an opportunity to protect people and evacuate people”.
The worst of the storm responsible for the flooding, named “Desmond” by the Met office, had passed according to forecasters but more wet weather was expected in coming days.
Flood-hit families and businesses will be in line to benefit from a £50m relief fund, Chancellor George Osborne has announced.
The announcement has come at a time when the Government is being criticised for not investing enough in flood defences.
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”. If the storm continues, the damage – and therefore the costs – could be significantly worse.
They said we couldn’t cope because the volumes are unprecendented. “It’s still unsafe out on the road network and we’re urging people to stay away from closed bridges and damaged roads, it’s possible there could be further subsidence or collapse”.
Cameron said the Environment Agency would study how to improve flood barriers after residents were lashed by Storm Desmond. But this has proved to be yet another false promise.
“The Government has failed to deliver on their promises”.
Advertisement
A total of 1,514 remain without power in Cumbria, the company added. All flood storage reservoirs at Carlisle, Wigton, Longton, Kendal and Penrith have been utilised. “Looking at late evening before we can restore the remainder but we are working hard to get you on”.
