Weather warning
Britain was hit by more high winds and torrential rain this week, as Storm Dennis brought the worst flooding in 200 years to parts of the UK. Five people died and more than 1,400 homes and businesses were flooded in England and Wales. A record 600 flood warnings and alerts were issued at the peak of the storm (the second to hit Britain in as many weeks). Officials said the country was in “uncharted territory”.
The worst-hit areas were South Wales, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and
Shropshire. The River Wye, near the Welsh border, reached a record 23ft and the River Severn also reached its highest ever level. More heavy rain was forecast on Wednesday and 126 flood warnings – including six severe “danger to life” warnings – remained in place. However, the Government resisted calls to hold an emergency Cobra meeting about the flooding.
What the editorials said
Yet again our communities are under water, said The Sun, “but Boris Johnson is nowhere to be seen”. The Tories won the election promising to stick up for ordinary voters, but the PM is focusing on grand projects like HS2. It’s time he got his priorities straight “and put those wellies on”. Johnson needs to get a grip, said The Independent. Coordinating a response from local authorities, the Treasury and the Army is “a huge job” and relies on No. 10’s full support. The PM should have called a Cobra meeting. Instead, he spent half of the week holed up at Chevening, his country retreat. It’s “perplexing behaviour”.
Blame the Environment Agency, said The Times; whenever Britain is hit by bad flooding, its “sticking-plaster solutions” fall apart. We’re still building on floodplains, and the agency hasn’t reconciled competing interests (such as those of farmers upstream and homeowners downstream) on issues such as river management. If it continues failing in its “central task” – protecting us from floods – the job should go to another arm of government.