Yet another Atlantic storm was barrelling towards Britain today, threatening to dump a month’s worth of rainfall on communities already struggling to cope with the wettest winter for 250 years.
The country’s Met Office said a “multi-pronged attack” of wind, rain and snow would sweep across the country after making landfall in southwest England today.
The heavy rain could lead to another 1,000 houses being evacuated, the Environment Agency told the
The agency warned of huge waves on England’s south coast as high tides combine with 128 km per hour winds.
The storm comes two days after hurricane-force gales tore through the country leaving one person dead and tens of thousands without power.
The swollen River Thames was expected to reach its highest level for 60 years at the week-end, promising fresh misery for flooded towns west of London where the military is providing relief.
Energy companies had yesterday worked to get power back to more than 56,000 people still left without electricity, having restored supplies to more than 400,000 hit by outages during Wednesday’s storm.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he would seek financial aid from the European Union to cope with the floods, despite his promises to renegotiate London’s relationship with Brussels and hold a referendum.
“There is assistance that we are seeking from the EU,” he said. “Some of the money I’m making available for Britain’s farmers comes out of an EU budget.”
Cameron said he was also seeking “expertise” from other EU nations, including “Dutch experts on pumping and dealing with flood defences’’.
His government has faced criticism for being slow to help people in flood-hit areas.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg later announced a $416,000 fund to advise those hit by the floods.