The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Flood solutions could take time
THE PRIME Minister last night pledged to do everything he could to help the flood- stricken communities of the Somerset Levels, but warned solutions would take some time.
His decision to come and see the devastation caused by weeks of flooding coincided with a trip by beleaguered Environment A gency chairman Lord Smith to the area, where he faced furious residents and calls to quit.
The Prime Minister stood in deep flood water to survey the damage to Tony Davy’s farm in Fordgate. “It’s a biblical scene,” Mr Cameron said. “The scale of it here in Somerset is immense when you think of how many square miles are under water.
“Clearly people here have faced a very tough time and continue to face a tough time and that’s why we have got to do everything we can to help.
“So more pumps, we brought in more pumps, more help from the emergency services, more help is there, money to help Somerset get back on its feet, the money is there, the army coming in to help, whether it’s helping with sandbags, which they’ve been doing over the last 24 hours, or looking to see whether temporary bridges can be put in place.
“Everything that can be done will be done and I’ll make sure that happens.”
Mr Cameron admitted that the decision to stop dredging the Tone and Perrett rivers in the 1990s was “wrong” and a period of more “intensive” dredging was needed.
Earlier in the day, Lord Smith, who was making his first visit to the Levels since the flooding began at Christmas, ignored calls to quit after being confronted by residents who were angry he was refusing to apologise.
Local councillor Julian Taylor, who was evacuated on Wednesday, said: “I think it’s all very well for politicians in Westminster to send condolences and say that they’re going to do things, but the issue is now that we’re reaping failure of something like about 50 years of bad maintenance and short-term policies.” A fresh weather front was forecast to bring more heavy rain throughout Tayside and Fife today — and possibly snow.
While the region may have escaped the severe weather of southern England, the weekend is likely to be more unsettled than yesterday.
A spokeswoman for the Met Office said: “It could fall as snowfall on higher ground, down to 200m (650ft).
“This is likely to accumulate over 500m (1,600ft) — and some showers could be quite heavy.”
The showers will become widespread throughout the afternoon and heavy at times, particularly across Stirlingshire.
However, wind speeds will only reach between 15mph and 25mph.
The spokeswoman for the meteorological agency said temperatures could reach as high as 6°C throughout Courier Country and similar temperatures are forecast tomorrow.
The showers are forecast to abate slightly on Sunday however, with glimpses of sunshine.
On Monday, the weather looks fair but another front of wet weather moving in will bring a showery start to the day on Tuesday.