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| Storm Desmond: Osborne announces £50m flood fund – as it happened | Storm Desmond: Osborne announces £50m flood fund – as it happened |
| (30 days later) | |
| 5.57pm GMT | 5.57pm GMT |
| 17:57 | 17:57 |
| Closing summary | Closing summary |
| We are closing this live blog; here are today’s main points. | We are closing this live blog; here are today’s main points. |
| 5.39pm GMT | 5.39pm GMT |
| 17:39 | 17:39 |
| Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, has fleshed out his idea for owners of second homes to open their doors to flood victims, in a piece for the Guardian. He also urged the government to look again at flood schemes across the country to make sure they are fit for purpose. | Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, has fleshed out his idea for owners of second homes to open their doors to flood victims, in a piece for the Guardian. He also urged the government to look again at flood schemes across the country to make sure they are fit for purpose. |
| Many local people have already helped out by offering shelter to flood victims in the immediate aftermath of the floods; however, moving beyond the immediate problem, many of these families are now looking to find temporary properties to live in until their own homes are once more habitable. South Lakeland has the third highest proportion of second homes of any local authority in the country, with thousands of holiday homes in the area. It would be fantastic if second-home owners whose properties would otherwise be sitting empty were willing to make these available to those whose homes have been destroyed. We have already had over a dozen concrete offers of help, while many more have expressed an interest. | Many local people have already helped out by offering shelter to flood victims in the immediate aftermath of the floods; however, moving beyond the immediate problem, many of these families are now looking to find temporary properties to live in until their own homes are once more habitable. South Lakeland has the third highest proportion of second homes of any local authority in the country, with thousands of holiday homes in the area. It would be fantastic if second-home owners whose properties would otherwise be sitting empty were willing to make these available to those whose homes have been destroyed. We have already had over a dozen concrete offers of help, while many more have expressed an interest. |
| 5.14pm GMT | 5.14pm GMT |
| 17:14 | 17:14 |
| Something rare has washed up in Dorset after Storm Desmond. Flotillas of velella velella, known as By-the-wind Sailors, have been found on beaches near Lulworth and Bridport. Julie Hatcher, of Dorset Wildlife Trust, told the BBC: “They are designed to blow around and never come to land so to get a big mass stranding is rare.” | Something rare has washed up in Dorset after Storm Desmond. Flotillas of velella velella, known as By-the-wind Sailors, have been found on beaches near Lulworth and Bridport. Julie Hatcher, of Dorset Wildlife Trust, told the BBC: “They are designed to blow around and never come to land so to get a big mass stranding is rare.” |
| Rare jelly creatures wash up in Dorset after Storm Desmond https://t.co/hEldychNyF Dija pic.twitter.com/3YMzKzfMR0 | Rare jelly creatures wash up in Dorset after Storm Desmond https://t.co/hEldychNyF Dija pic.twitter.com/3YMzKzfMR0 |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.23pm GMT | at 5.23pm GMT |
| 4.42pm GMT | 4.42pm GMT |
| 16:42 | 16:42 |
| The UK government was warned by its official climate change advisers in October that it needed to take action on the increasing number of homes at high risk of flooding but rejected the advice. Damian Carrington and Patrick Wintour have the story. Here is an extract. | The UK government was warned by its official climate change advisers in October that it needed to take action on the increasing number of homes at high risk of flooding but rejected the advice. Damian Carrington and Patrick Wintour have the story. Here is an extract. |
| The decision not to develop to develop a strategy to address increase flooding risk came just a few weeks before Storm Desmond brought about severe flooding in Cumbria, Lancashire and other parts of the north west causing an estimated £500m of damage. | The decision not to develop to develop a strategy to address increase flooding risk came just a few weeks before Storm Desmond brought about severe flooding in Cumbria, Lancashire and other parts of the north west causing an estimated £500m of damage. |
| The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) also told the Guardian that, despite David Cameron’s promise to do so, the government had failed to learn lessons from the widespread flooding in the winter of 2013-14. Those floods led to emergency financial bailouts to flood defence funds which had previously been cut under the coalition government. | The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) also told the Guardian that, despite David Cameron’s promise to do so, the government had failed to learn lessons from the widespread flooding in the winter of 2013-14. Those floods led to emergency financial bailouts to flood defence funds which had previously been cut under the coalition government. |
| In June, the CCC’s statutory report on the UK’s progress on climate change highlighted dealing with floods from extreme weather as the government’s most serious failing in preparing for the impacts of global warming. It stated: “Plans and policies, or progress in addressing vulnerabilities, are lacking”. | In June, the CCC’s statutory report on the UK’s progress on climate change highlighted dealing with floods from extreme weather as the government’s most serious failing in preparing for the impacts of global warming. It stated: “Plans and policies, or progress in addressing vulnerabilities, are lacking”. |
| The CCC said “residual” flood risk – the flooding resulting from extreme weather events that cannot be prevented by normal flood defences – was increasing. On Monday, environment secretary Liz Truss said the Storm Desmond floods had resulted from “extreme weather conditions” and “unprecedented amount of rainfall.” | The CCC said “residual” flood risk – the flooding resulting from extreme weather events that cannot be prevented by normal flood defences – was increasing. On Monday, environment secretary Liz Truss said the Storm Desmond floods had resulted from “extreme weather conditions” and “unprecedented amount of rainfall.” |
| The CCC recommended that the government should “develop a strategy to address the increasing number of homes in areas of high flood risk”. But in October the government replied: “We believe that a strategy to address future residual risk would not be appropriate at this time.” | The CCC recommended that the government should “develop a strategy to address the increasing number of homes in areas of high flood risk”. But in October the government replied: “We believe that a strategy to address future residual risk would not be appropriate at this time.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.20pm GMT | at 5.20pm GMT |
| 4.36pm GMT | 4.36pm GMT |
| 16:36 | 16:36 |
| River Wyre and St Michael’s South, near Preston, Lancashire, is the only area of the UK still under a severe weather warning, with further rain “expected through the evening and overnight”. Fred Searle writes: | River Wyre and St Michael’s South, near Preston, Lancashire, is the only area of the UK still under a severe weather warning, with further rain “expected through the evening and overnight”. Fred Searle writes: |
| Rising river levels are not anticipated to have “a significant effect on the current flooding situation in St Michael’s,” according to the Environment Agency website, but local businesses are bracing themselves. | Rising river levels are not anticipated to have “a significant effect on the current flooding situation in St Michael’s,” according to the Environment Agency website, but local businesses are bracing themselves. |
| Carl Palmer, the general manager at The Horn’s Inn in Churchtown said sandbags were delivered by Wyre council yesterday to prepare for adverse weather this week. He reported that the basement of the pub had been under 10ft of water following flooding on Saturday. | Carl Palmer, the general manager at The Horn’s Inn in Churchtown said sandbags were delivered by Wyre council yesterday to prepare for adverse weather this week. He reported that the basement of the pub had been under 10ft of water following flooding on Saturday. |
| Priory Homecare, based in St Michael’s and which provides carers to elderly and disabled people in the Wyre district, said it was staying put for now but had a contingency plan to transfer to an office on higher ground if flooding forces them out. | Priory Homecare, based in St Michael’s and which provides carers to elderly and disabled people in the Wyre district, said it was staying put for now but had a contingency plan to transfer to an office on higher ground if flooding forces them out. |
| Although the company’s office has so far escaped flooding, many of its clients have been affected. The company’s owner, Carol Smith, said: “A lot of our service users have been flooded. A lot of them are inaccessible. But our care workers have done a sterling job and managed to supply services to everybody - even if it has meant walking or getting four-wheel drives to take carers to clients homes. They [the carers] have been absolutely marvellous - turning out in very difficult situations to make sure community needs are met.” | Although the company’s office has so far escaped flooding, many of its clients have been affected. The company’s owner, Carol Smith, said: “A lot of our service users have been flooded. A lot of them are inaccessible. But our care workers have done a sterling job and managed to supply services to everybody - even if it has meant walking or getting four-wheel drives to take carers to clients homes. They [the carers] have been absolutely marvellous - turning out in very difficult situations to make sure community needs are met.” |
| 4.29pm GMT | 4.29pm GMT |
| 16:29 | 16:29 |
| The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has released more pictures of its rescue efforts. | The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has released more pictures of its rescue efforts. |
| Check out these pictures of our Flood Rescue Team in action in Carlisle. #CumbriaFloods pic.twitter.com/hTrpG1pRTo | Check out these pictures of our Flood Rescue Team in action in Carlisle. #CumbriaFloods pic.twitter.com/hTrpG1pRTo |
| 4.14pm GMT | 4.14pm GMT |
| 16:14 | 16:14 |
| The Institute of Directors has called for a temporary business rates holiday for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) which have been affected by flooding. Chris Ward of IoD Cumbria said: | The Institute of Directors has called for a temporary business rates holiday for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) which have been affected by flooding. Chris Ward of IoD Cumbria said: |
| The £50m fund and grants announced by the chancellor will help, but getting back to business as usual in the affected areas merits more intervention. Politicians should consider whether moves like a business rates holiday for SMEs would be appropriate. If local authorities were to forego one month of business rates, small businesses would receive an immediate cash boost to help get themselves back to health and let them continue to play the vital role they do as a vibrant part of the North West economy. | The £50m fund and grants announced by the chancellor will help, but getting back to business as usual in the affected areas merits more intervention. Politicians should consider whether moves like a business rates holiday for SMEs would be appropriate. If local authorities were to forego one month of business rates, small businesses would receive an immediate cash boost to help get themselves back to health and let them continue to play the vital role they do as a vibrant part of the North West economy. |
| 4.10pm GMT | 4.10pm GMT |
| 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Helen Pidd | Helen Pidd |
| Helen Pidd describes the plight of one family in Northumberland as it copes with the aftermath of flooding for the second time in a decade. | Helen Pidd describes the plight of one family in Northumberland as it copes with the aftermath of flooding for the second time in a decade. |
| Fifteen families have had to leave their homes in Haydon Bridge, 10 miles upstream from the pretty tourist town of Corbridge in Northumberland. The Davisons – Kathleen and her husband Lyndon, and their teenage daughters – were one. On Wednesday they had humidifiers drying out their sodden ground floor as they prepared to move into rented accommodation for the second time in 10 years. | Fifteen families have had to leave their homes in Haydon Bridge, 10 miles upstream from the pretty tourist town of Corbridge in Northumberland. The Davisons – Kathleen and her husband Lyndon, and their teenage daughters – were one. On Wednesday they had humidifiers drying out their sodden ground floor as they prepared to move into rented accommodation for the second time in 10 years. |
| “Last time, in 2005, the water was up to our skirting boards - it went half a foot above that this time,” said Kathleen, 49, a sales adviser. “But at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter how high it goes. If it gets in, the whole ground floor is ruined. We’ll have to move out for at least six months.” | “Last time, in 2005, the water was up to our skirting boards - it went half a foot above that this time,” said Kathleen, 49, a sales adviser. “But at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter how high it goes. If it gets in, the whole ground floor is ruined. We’ll have to move out for at least six months.” |
| “We’re just forgotten about up here,” said Lyndon, 50, a service engineer, complaining that much of the focus locally was on Corbridge, with its more affluent population, independent shops and Roman heritage. “We’re basically a working village. They’re trying to close our fire station at the moment, yet without it the flooding here would have been a hundred times worse.” | “We’re just forgotten about up here,” said Lyndon, 50, a service engineer, complaining that much of the focus locally was on Corbridge, with its more affluent population, independent shops and Roman heritage. “We’re basically a working village. They’re trying to close our fire station at the moment, yet without it the flooding here would have been a hundred times worse.” |
| He continued: “The north-east generally gets forgotten. Look at what happened after the floods last year in the Somerset levels. How much has the government promised to spend there? £15.5m is it? And they’ve dredged the rivers. What are they going to do here? I think there’s a north-south divide in flood protection in this country.” | He continued: “The north-east generally gets forgotten. Look at what happened after the floods last year in the Somerset levels. How much has the government promised to spend there? £15.5m is it? And they’ve dredged the rivers. What are they going to do here? I think there’s a north-south divide in flood protection in this country.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.30pm GMT | at 4.30pm GMT |
| 3.59pm GMT | 3.59pm GMT |
| 15:59 | 15:59 |
| Jamie Reed, Labour MP for Copeland, has written a scathing piece for the Guardian Northerner blog in which he blasts the Department for Environment - run by Liz Truss - as the weakest department in Whitehall. Here are his key points. | Jamie Reed, Labour MP for Copeland, has written a scathing piece for the Guardian Northerner blog in which he blasts the Department for Environment - run by Liz Truss - as the weakest department in Whitehall. Here are his key points. |
| As a former shadow environment minister, I warned the government when it made cuts to flood defence schemes, that these cuts represented a false economy: that the country and those affected communities would end up paying more than any cuts would save in the long run. The Environment Agency (EA) warned them too, and specialist flood groups, flood victim support groups and many others. | As a former shadow environment minister, I warned the government when it made cuts to flood defence schemes, that these cuts represented a false economy: that the country and those affected communities would end up paying more than any cuts would save in the long run. The Environment Agency (EA) warned them too, and specialist flood groups, flood victim support groups and many others. |
| All of the warnings fell upon deaf ears. No government can predict, or be blamed for the weather, but the government knew that the likelihood of the devastation that flooding can cause would be increased by cuts to flood defence spending. In this knowledge, it went ahead and cut anyway. Whether or not this would have prevented some of the chaos seen this weekend is impossible to know and in any event, now irrelevant. | All of the warnings fell upon deaf ears. No government can predict, or be blamed for the weather, but the government knew that the likelihood of the devastation that flooding can cause would be increased by cuts to flood defence spending. In this knowledge, it went ahead and cut anyway. Whether or not this would have prevented some of the chaos seen this weekend is impossible to know and in any event, now irrelevant. |
| The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the weakest department in Whitehall. Bossed and bullied, I cannot recall a time when it won a serious policy battle or found itself with a Secretary of State prepared to fight the Treasury for the cash to protect its capability. The EA, Defra’s more sprightly sibling has also now found itself boxed in and so ends up on national television both explaining and taking the blame for policy decisions it actively lobbied against. | The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the weakest department in Whitehall. Bossed and bullied, I cannot recall a time when it won a serious policy battle or found itself with a Secretary of State prepared to fight the Treasury for the cash to protect its capability. The EA, Defra’s more sprightly sibling has also now found itself boxed in and so ends up on national television both explaining and taking the blame for policy decisions it actively lobbied against. |
| What is now needed is a government backed “Commission for Cumbrian Infrastructure and Resilience”’. This Commission – and I have asked David Cameron to establish such – should have the power to plan and resource improvements to the county’s infrastructure, improving resilience in the face of what will be extreme future weather events and taking into account the special requirements of the county. | What is now needed is a government backed “Commission for Cumbrian Infrastructure and Resilience”’. This Commission – and I have asked David Cameron to establish such – should have the power to plan and resource improvements to the county’s infrastructure, improving resilience in the face of what will be extreme future weather events and taking into account the special requirements of the county. |
| 3.12pm GMT | 3.12pm GMT |
| 15:12 | 15:12 |
| The Association of British Insurers has a film on how to protect your home if you live in a flood prone area, or make a claim if you’re recovering from a flood. You can watch the video here. | The Association of British Insurers has a film on how to protect your home if you live in a flood prone area, or make a claim if you’re recovering from a flood. You can watch the video here. |
| 2.58pm GMT | 2.58pm GMT |
| 14:58 | 14:58 |
| Footage recorded by Kinder mountain rescue on Sunday shows how the team carefully makes its way around residential streets in Carlisle that have been flooded as a result of Storm Desmond. They carry out house-to-house checks and come across several residents trapped by water that was still rising as this was filmed. | Footage recorded by Kinder mountain rescue on Sunday shows how the team carefully makes its way around residential streets in Carlisle that have been flooded as a result of Storm Desmond. They carry out house-to-house checks and come across several residents trapped by water that was still rising as this was filmed. |
| 2.56pm GMT | 2.56pm GMT |
| 14:56 | 14:56 |
| The BBC’s graphics team has a clever before-and-after visualisation of the floods on Brunton Crescent, Carlisle. | The BBC’s graphics team has a clever before-and-after visualisation of the floods on Brunton Crescent, Carlisle. |
| Compare images of Carlisle during and after the floods, as chancellor announces £50m fund https://t.co/hamZgcCBYi pic.twitter.com/pUFVjGDtdp | Compare images of Carlisle during and after the floods, as chancellor announces £50m fund https://t.co/hamZgcCBYi pic.twitter.com/pUFVjGDtdp |
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