First the floods... now prepare for Big Freeze
A BIG freeze will grip Britain this week – yet experts warn the country still faces several more days of flooding misery.
As Rishi Sunak met flood victim families yesterday, Environment Agency chiefs said the chaos could last another four days.
Plummeting temperatures mean a treacherous commute for millions today after a night of ice and snow.
A Met Office ‘yellow’ weather warning was issued for ice across London and the South East last night, with more than an inch of snow being possible on higher ground.
And families near slow-flowing rivers such as the Thames, Severn and Trent were told to remain on alert for flooding as the sodden ground starts to drain.
More than 170 flood warnings were in place across England yesterday, with people urged to take care as ‘buildings will flood’ and roads will be blocked.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer vowed to make flood defences ‘fit for purpose’, saying ‘people’s lives shouldn’t be upended by extreme rain’. Responding to the criticism, the Prime Minister went to Oxford to speak to flood-hit families on their doorsteps, insisting: ‘Touch wood, we’re past the worst of it.’
He said: ‘Flooding has been having devastating impact but we’ve invested a record £5.2billion in flood defences.’
The Environment Agency warned that flooding was possible in parts of the South and in Yorkshire and on Humberside for the next four days.
Its flood and coastal risk manager Joe Cuthbertson said the ‘good news’ was that ‘we now have no further significant rainfall in the coming days’.
Temperatures will struggle to get above freezing this week and the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office issued an
‘amber’ cold health alert, covering the North West, West Midlands, East Midlands and the South West through to Friday.
Lesser yellow alerts cover the rest of England.
■ A boy of 16 and a man aged 40 died after their car crashed and was submerged in water at Tetney Lock, near Grimsby, on Saturday afternoon. It is thought no other vehicle was involved.