Thursday, September 27, 2012

Huge clean-up begins after record storms batter Britain

ITV News (UK): Hundreds of homeowners are facing a massive clean-up today after record storms battered Britain. Across the North, householders have been reclaiming their homes, which insures estimate will cost an average of about £20,000 per household.

Residents of a block of townhouses in Newburn, Newcastle, were among those who faced a second night out of their homes after floodwater gouged out the ground beneath the building, which remains cordoned off amid safety concerns.

Some areas have seen more than double the average rainfall for the month since Sunday, and although the worst of the rain has now passed, river levels in some places were still rising as the water comes down through the system.

The town of Morpeth, Northumberland was one of the towns that had secured funding for defences through a partnership programme, the Environment Agency had said. The council had allocated £12m and the Northumbria Regional Flood and Coastal Committee £10.6m for flood defences, plans which had been given the go-ahead to start early next year. Morpeth residents are now facing a massive clean-up for the second time in four years after a month's rain fell in 24 hours....

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