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Flooding plan 'needs improvement' Flooding plan 'needs improvement'
(about 2 hours later)
Flood defence must be taken more seriously if communities are to be properly protected, the official report on last summer's flooding will say. Flood defence must be taken more seriously, the official report into last summer's flooding has said.
The independent review by Sir Michael Pitt, commissioned by ministers, is set to contain more than 70 proposals. Sir Michael Pitt, who carried out the independent review, said building regulations must be stricter in flood-prone areas and planning better.
He said most were "not expensive", but needed "powerful, Cabinet-level leadership" to implement them. He said it was "unacceptable" that utilities had been cut off and firms must do more to protect key sites.
The 2007 deluge left 13 dead and saw 44,600 homes flooded, with Yorkshire and the Midlands among the worst hit. The 2007 deluge left 13 dead and 44,600 homes flooded. Nearly 5,000 people are still in temporary accommodation.
Left homeless Yorkshire and the Midlands were among the worst hit last year, and the Humber and south-west England were also severely affected.
The Humber and southwest England were also severely affected by the wet weather. Better construction
BBC Environment Correspondent Sarah Mukherjee said: "Sir Michael is also said to be exercised by the fact that thousands of people are still out of their homes a year after the floods. He thinks this is unacceptable." Speaking to the BBC, Sir Michael agreed it was "shameful" that so many people had still not been able to return to their homes.
She added that he is likely to say councils, housing associations and insurers should make sure that these houses are "properly flood-proofed" before people return to them. One of the reasons for this, he said, was that the materials and techniques used to build them were inappropriate for a flood-risk area and so they had taken a long time to dry out.
Sir Michael told the BBC the performance of insurers had generally been good following the floods, although there was "something like a 20% level of dissatisfaction with the performance of both loss adjusters and insurance companies". An overhaul of building regulations was, therefore, a key recommendation of the report.Advertisement
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Scenes of flooding around the UK in the summer of 2007Scenes of flooding around the UK in the summer of 2007
The report will also say:
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  • Local authorities should create a definitive map of all drainage ditches and streams in their area, making clear who is responsible for maintaining them.
  • A nerve centre should be set up jointly by the Met Office and the Environment Agency to pool information and issue more accurate flood warnings.
  • New building regulations should be introduced for flood-prone areas, recommending appropriate construction materials and drainage systems.
  • A greater onus should be placed on utility companies to protect key infrastructure sites. Sir Michael said some had previously been "quite secretive" about their sites.
 The review also recommends that:
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  • Local authorities should create a definitive map of all drainage ditches and streams in their area, making clear who is responsible for maintaining them.
  • A nerve centre should be set up jointly by the Met Office and the Environment Agency to pool information and issue more accurate flood warnings.
  • A greater onus should be placed on utility companies to protect key infrastructure sites. Sir Michael said some had previously been "quite secretive" about their sites.
Sir Michael said most of the recommendations could be achieved within the government's existing £800m-a-year flood defence budget for 2010 to 2011. Sir Michael said most of the recommendations were "not expensive" and could be achieved within the government's existing £800m-a-year flood defence budget for 2010 to 2011.
But he said: "Implementing these recommendations will need powerful, Cabinet-level leadership. But he said: "Implementing these recommendations will need powerful, Cabinet-level leadership."
"We can be much better prepared. In fact, we are already better prepared now than a year ago." Sir Michael said it was "tempting" to call for a blanket ban on any more building in flood-prone areas, but that was not "realistic", given the huge demand for housing and lack of alternative land in some parts of the country.
Clearer warnings But he said: "Construction in flood-risk areas should be the absolute exception. And I think it is very important that people purchasing houses are aware of the risks they are taking"
It is not just authorities who are likely to be criticised in the report. Home buyers information packs should be required to carry detailed information about flooding risks, he added.
Sir Michael said some members of the public did not take flood warnings seriously enough. 'Greater resilience'
They should be registered with the Environment Agency's Flood Line to receive up-to-the-minute advice and should have an emergency kit in their homes, he added. We do not welcome building on flood plains, but in some parts of the country there is very little or no choice Sir Michael Pitt Water and power companies must do more to protect and share information about key sites or "single points of failure", the report insists.
However, he said flood warnings last year were "given in very technical terms" and must be made easier to understand in future. "I think that the drive for efficiency means that often companies reduce the amount of spare capacity they have in their networks, so when they are are struck by an emergency of the sort we experienced last year, there isn't enough resilience in the system," Sir Michael said.
But he acknowledged that utility companies faced a "tension" between this sort of openness and concerns around commercial sensitivity and the possible threat to critical sites from terrorism.
It is not just authorities who are criticised in the report - Sir Michael said some members of the public were not properly prepared and did not take flood warnings seriously enough.
However, he said the warnings given last year were "in very technical terms" and must be made easier to understand.
He said the performance of insurers had generally been good following the floods, although there was "something like a 20% level of dissatisfaction with the performance of both loss adjusters and insurance companies".
Power stations
Earlier this month, a report by the Fire Brigades Union revealed that fire crews are going without flood equipment such as lifejackets, waterproofs and boots, one year on from the summer deluge.Earlier this month, a report by the Fire Brigades Union revealed that fire crews are going without flood equipment such as lifejackets, waterproofs and boots, one year on from the summer deluge.
But the government said it had spent £200m on specialist equipment.But the government said it had spent £200m on specialist equipment.
And the Environment Agency recently said a national effort was needed to tackle the vulnerability of buildings such as power stations and hospitals to flooding.And the Environment Agency recently said a national effort was needed to tackle the vulnerability of buildings such as power stations and hospitals to flooding.
It warned that ministers, councils and utility firms need to act. It also said it had completed 34 flood defences, helping more than 30,000 homes, since last year's downpour, and is mapping the country using a new laser system to identify in detail those areas most at risk.
It also said it had completed 34 flood defences, helping more than 30,000 homes, since last year's downpour.
It is mapping the country using a new laser system to identify in detail those areas most at risk.
Sir Michael said: "We do not welcome building on flood plains, but in some parts of the country there is very little or no choice."