Flood report blames drainage system

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The interim report, which was commissioned by the city council, said flood protection systems and drainage plans based on a one-in-30 year rainfall event such as this, may not be sufficient for low-lying cities like Hull.

It highlighted problems caused by different agencies - including the Environment Agency, council and water companies - responsible for different areas of the drainage, which are likely to replicated across the UK.

And it urged the Environment Agency to look at expanding its flood warning system from just river-based flooding to other kinds of potential deluge.

Thursday's interim report follows the floods in the city at the end of June, which saw more than 7,000 homes flood, 1,300 businesses affected and one man lose his life.

The report rejected a view voiced by many local residents that the flooding was caused by blocked gullies in the city.

But the authors said they had "significant concerns" whether the city's pumping system, which was only re-evaluated in 2000, was correctly designed to cover a one-in-30 year storm event.

They concluded: "The floods on June 25 were caused by Hull's pumped drainage and sewerage system being overwhelmed by the volume of rainwater.

"This led to backing up of water along the sewer and drainage network leading to widespread flooding across Hull.

"Despite the devastation, there are many positives to take from the floods. Given the magnitude of the storm (greater than 1 in 150 years), we feel it is very encouraging that key pieces of important civil infrastructure did not fail."