Flooding crisis: this summer to be the wettest in recorded history

 Add your view

This summer is going to be the wettest in recorded history.

In June and July so far an average of 26.18cm of rain fell across England and Wales, just below the current record of 27.06cm, which was set in 1768 - and there is still August to come.

However, forecasters say temperatures are set to soar next month. The Met Office's official summer forecast, released today, predicted that while the unsettled conditions are set to continue for around 10 more days, better weather is on the way.

The Met Office's official summer forecast, released today, predicted that while the unsettled conditions are set to continue for around 10 more days, better weather is on the way.

Scroll down for more...

Two girls paddle through water in Upton Upon Severn, Worcestershire

The prospect of a normal summer came as more than 340,000 people face a water shortage after being told it could be up to two weeks before proper supplies are restored to their homes.

The worst floods in modern history began to recede in Gloucestershire today as tens of thousands of homes had their power switched back on.

With river levels "slowly" falling in the early hours, emergency services managed to restore electricity to more than 48,000 houses plunged into darkness after Castlemeads Substation was deluged by the River Severn. Police said there was also a "positive" outlook for Walham Substation, which had been the force's main area of concern.

Police spokeswoman Katy Roberts said: "Power has now been restored to all homes that were affected as a result of the flooding at Castlemeads Substation. There is also a positive picture at Walham Substation as the situation there remains under control.

"As the situation at the county's substations becomes less critical emergency services will be directing their resources to other areas affected by the flooding.

Scroll down for more...

A father empties his daughter's wellies in Abingdon Road, Oxford

It's also emerged that ministers were warned of failings in flood defences three years ago.

A series of reports from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2004 said plans to deal with a major flood were "complex, confusing and distressing for the public".

It called for a major overhaul of Britain's flood defences and drainage systems, along with a new system for dealing with major floods.

As a result, towns, villages and isolated rural homes were still cut off this morning, roads were blocked and mile upon mile of countryside was under a sea of muddy water.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The danger zones

With flood levels peaking across central and southern Britain, parts of the UK will be awash at different times. The Environment Agency said the River Severn at Gloucester had peaked just inches below the level which would have threatened the city centre and a power station serving half a million homes.

Waters on the River Thames have also peaked at Abingdon and at Henley in Oxfordshire. The Environment Agency said the Thames, which winds through Oxford, was peaking in the university town in the early hours of today.

Bedford, which lies close to the River Great Ouse, will also receive its peak water flow this morning. In Reading, which lies on the Thames as it winds towards London, the water is not due to reach its peak levels until the early hours of tomorrow morning. There are fears that several hundred houses will be at risk.

Water levels are then expected to peak in Windsor, further along the Thames in Berkshire, on Thursday. The surge of water is not expected to affect the capital, with flooding due to stop at Shepperton, near Walton-on-Thames. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Some 350,000 people in Gloucestershire will be without running water for anything up to five days after a treatment plant was swamped.

Mythe water treatment works near Tewkesbury was shut down on Sunday after it was submerged by flood water. Homeowners were urged to use water sparingly and advised to keep their homes as clean as possible.

With millions of gallons of water from the torrential rain surging downstream, some rivers are expected to be 20ft higher than normal, sending a torrent of dirty water into streets and homes.

Homeowners across Oxfordshire, the Midlands and Bedfordshire were moving possessions upstairs and preparing to sandbag their homes after severe flood warnings were issued.

Scroll down for more...

A Defra analysis of current flood planning found a catalogue of problems in the way flood problems were dealt with. It said there was a lack of information for those affected, with people being passed between organisations and no one taking responsibility.

This also led to poor risk assessments, because no single organisation has the incentive to carry them out. Development planning decisions were also being taken without a full understanding of the risks of urban flooding. Organisations were found to be making investment decisions based on priorities in their own area, without considering the wider drainage issues.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who toured some of the worst scenes of destruction yesterday, announced a review of the flood defences.

Insurance companies said they were preparing to pay out more than £2 billion in claims.

Scroll down for more...

A baby is carried from a Gloucestershire campsite

Anthony Perry, a flood risk expert at the Environment Agency, compared the disaster to March 1947, when almost every river in England flooded during a thaw after a freezing winter.

He said: "We have not seen flooding of this magnitude before. The benchmark was 1947 and this has already exceeded it."

This morning, Royal Navy personnel and firefighters were winning the key battle against the forces of nature at the Walham electricity sub-station in Gloucester, which supplies 500,000 people.

Scroll down for more...

Lifeline: The semi-submerged power substation at Walham, near Gloucester

They piled up sandbags and erected steel barriers to keep the floods away.

North of Gloucester, the Castlemead substation, which supplies more than 48,000 homes, was turned off so 150 RAF servicemen and firefighters could pump out water from the overflowing Severn.

Severn Trent Water had already had to turn off mains supplies to 350,000 people after contaminated flood water swamped a major treatment plant.

It sent 250 mini tankers to Gloucestershire and handed out 150,000 bottles of water in Tewkesbury - which was cut off by the floods - and Quedgeley.

Gloucestershire county council chief executive Pete Bungard said last night: "We've seen flooding, flooding, flooding but that is only about 2,000 homes.

Scroll down for more...

RSPCA officers rescue a woman and her dog in Tewkesbury

"Tonight we are going to have 350,000 people without a water supply and that is likely to last for an absolute minimum of seven days. That really does change your style of life.

"We're talking about the whole of Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester and small communities in between. It's more than half of Gloucestershire's population. It's probably about 80 per cent of our economy in those three towns and cities."

By last night the list of affected areas had grown to include Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Lincolnshire and Warwickshire.

A man sits on a partially submerged bench on the banks of the River Thames at Pangbourne, Berkshire

 

What's on today   What's on tomorrow

Receive our newsletter