Cumbria still unprotected from flooding

Mike McCarthy in Sky News (UK): Six months after parts of Cumbria were devastated by floods an official report reveals the county remains unprotected. Although the study acknowledges vast improvements since last November's deluge, it concludes the issue of future flood defences has not yet been addressed.

The study by Cumbria county council also accepts local people are "understandably" concerned about a possible repeat of the events of last November. Leader of the council, Eddie Martin, said an enormous amount of effort had gone into flood recovery but warned that there was still much to do.

"Some road and foot bridges still need to be repaired or rebuilt. Some people are still waiting to get back into their homes. Farmers need certainty on what the future of their ruined land will be, and the local economy needs to build itself back up. Six months on we want the rest of the country to realise that Cumbria is open for business, but also to recognise that we're still recovering from the floods and there are some important lessons to be learned."

The majority of tarders on Cockermouth's main shopping street where most of the damage was caused, are still waiting to return to their premises. Hundreds of the town's residents are still living in temporary accommodation….

The Southwaite Mill Bridge in Cockermouth, England, shot by morebyless, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license