Flood victims should be 'reassured' over response, Sunak says despite more than 1,000 homes deluged

5 January 2024, 16:07

People in flood-hit areas should be "reassured" by the response, Rishi Sunk has said - as more than 1,000 homes were deluged.

A week of heavy rain as Storm Henk struck the UK has caused rivers to burst their banks and flood swathes of England.

More than 600 flood alerts and warnings were put in place.

And while the rain is expected to ease over the coming days, cold weather alerts are now due to kick in.

Evacuations were triggered in some of the worst flooded spots while criticism grew over the government's response.

Mr Sunak said: "I just want people to be reassured that the Environment Agency has people on the ground in all the affected areas, also hundreds of high volume pumps are in practice right now making a difference."

Read more: Flooding spreads across Britain: Party boat sinks in Thames amid mass evacuations as rivers Trent and Severn burst banks

He added: "It is important that people follow the advice that has been given in local areas where there are flood warnings that have been given."

Among the worst affected areas is Nottinghamshire, where the River Trent flooded and a major incident was declared. More than 100 homes were flooded there.

Water was shown approaching Nottingham Forest's ground.

Evacuations were issued for 50 properties on Alney Island, Gloucestershire, and about 50 people were taken from Hackney Wick by firefighters after a canal flooded.

But swathes of the country have been hit as Labour accused the government of being "asleep at the wheel" and demanded a task force be set up to deal with it.

The government has said it is spending £221m on flood defences in 2023/24.

Read more: Exact date snow to fall this month as Met Office issues fresh forecast

"Flooding impacts are expected to continue along parts of the River Trent for the next five days and along River Severn and along the River Thames today (Friday) and into tomorrow (Saturday)," the Met Office and Environment Agency said.

"Flooding impacts are also expected along the River Avon in Somerset today. Local flooding impacts may continue for several days along parts of the River Severn and River Thames.

"Flooding impacts are also expected more widely across the South and East of England today and in Yorkshire until Sunday as river levels remain high after the prolonged and recent wet weather.

"River flooding is possible in parts of East Midlands and East Anglia tomorrow as rivers respond to yesterday's wet weather.

"Local groundwater flooding is possible in parts of the South of England, Yorkshire and the Humber throughout the next five days.

"Land, roads and some properties may flood and there may be travel disruption."

The rain is expected to ease over the weekend - but the UK Health Security Agency has now issued cold weather alerts.

These kick in from 9am Saturday and will last until January 12. Ice is likely to hit due to wet ground from the rain.

The Met Office's chief forecaster Jason Kelly said: "The transition to lower temperatures will be noticeable over the weekend.

"It will become rather cold next week with lower-than-average temperatures across much of the UK, accentuated by brisk easterly winds in the south.

"As the prevailing weather conditions will be characterised by high pressure, a good deal of settled weather is likely.

"Clearer skies and a marked reduction in precipitation are expected, although any showers that do occur are likely to be wintry in nature. A combination of overnight freezing temperatures, saturated ground and calm winds mean increasing risks of frost, fog and icy conditions."