Flooding threat spreads to Severn and Thames riverside properties

Steven Morris, Damian Carrington and Matthew Weaver in the Guardian (UK): More homes and businesses are in danger of being flooded over the next few days as pressure built on the government to take action to prevent a similar crisis in the future and residents of the worst-hit area, the Somerset Levels, prepared for a royal visit.

The Environment Agency said high tides, large waves and strong winds would lead to a risk of coastal flooding along the south west and southern coasts of England Tuesday and Wednesday. It warned that properties on the banks of rivers including the Severn and the Thames could also be affected over the same period.

A severe weather warning was issued by the Met Office for Wednesday saying that gusts of up to 80mph and another 40mm of rain were possible across much of southern England and Wales.

The monotony for flood-stranded residents on the Somerset Levels will be broken on Tuesday by a visit from the Prince of Wales, who was already booked in for a tour to discuss the aftermath of the the 2012 winter floods in the area...

A 2007 flood near the Severn River, shot by Iain Cuthbertson, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license