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| Military on standby to provide flood victims with food and transport | |
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| Specialist Army vehicles could be drafted in to help tackle flooding, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said. | Specialist Army vehicles could be drafted in to help tackle flooding, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said. |
| The Ministry of Defence is in talks to deploy equipment and manpower to help those in affected areas by delivering food, transporting people and delivering sandbags. | The Ministry of Defence is in talks to deploy equipment and manpower to help those in affected areas by delivering food, transporting people and delivering sandbags. |
| The move comes after David Cameron said rapid action is needed to deal with the flooding in the Somerset Levels, and also warned Whitehall that arguments must not hold up help for residents. | The move comes after David Cameron said rapid action is needed to deal with the flooding in the Somerset Levels, and also warned Whitehall that arguments must not hold up help for residents. |
| The Prime Minister said dredging of rivers would start as soon as the present waters could be reduced to a safe level and promised extra pumps to speed up the process. And he told MPs he would “rule nothing out” as the Government’s emergency Cobra committee met again to find ways to ease the situation. | The Prime Minister said dredging of rivers would start as soon as the present waters could be reduced to a safe level and promised extra pumps to speed up the process. And he told MPs he would “rule nothing out” as the Government’s emergency Cobra committee met again to find ways to ease the situation. |
| Speaking to the BBC, Mr Paterson said: “As we speak, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Local Government are discussing how we could deploy specialist vehicles which could help some of those villages which have been cut off, to help people travel backwards and forwards, to get fuel and food in and out, and to help with transport from dry land.” | Speaking to the BBC, Mr Paterson said: “As we speak, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Local Government are discussing how we could deploy specialist vehicles which could help some of those villages which have been cut off, to help people travel backwards and forwards, to get fuel and food in and out, and to help with transport from dry land.” |
| John Osman, leader of Somerset County Council, welcomed the plan. “This is just what we wanted to hear from the Prime Minister,” he said. “We have lobbied hard to get national attention.” | John Osman, leader of Somerset County Council, welcomed the plan. “This is just what we wanted to hear from the Prime Minister,” he said. “We have lobbied hard to get national attention.” |
| PA | PA |