Three dead and more claims to come as rain continues
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says flood claims in Cumbria and southern Scotland will be as high as £100m, with more claims expected, papers report.
- The Environment Agency recorded 314mm (12.4in) rainfall at Seathwaite Farm in 24 hours
- At least 1,500 homes hit by the floods
- Three dead - PC Bill Barker, 44, when a bridge collapsed in Workington; a woman swept along the River Usk; canoeist Chris Wheeler, 46, from Reading, caught against a tree.
- Six bridges in Cumbria collapsed and all 1,800 bridges to be inspected
- Military Bailey bridges to be installed 5,000
- Households without power
- Emergency medical supplies and food parcels
- Army called in
Tony Cunningham, MP for Workington, told Sky News the flood was “of biblical proportions” seen “once every 1,000 years”. “The scale and the force of the devastation in Cockermouth is huge.”
Recognise flood defences
Insurers must find a better way of rewarding customers who carry out substantial flood prevention work, according to the National Flood Forum on BBC’s Money Box.
“I urge them to recognise the vast amounts of money that people have put into protecting their own property, and reward them appropriately” said
Mary Dhonau, National Flood Forum
At 6.55 this morning the Environment Agency had in place 17 flood warnings across the north east, north-west, midlands and Wales, and one severe flood warning in the north-west covering the River Eamont at Eamont Bridge, Kemplay Foot, Skirsgill Lane and Southwaite Green Mill.
