Experts warn of renewed flood risk

LONDON (AFP) - Britain faces a repeat of last summer's devastating floods with hundreds of power stations and water treatment facilities at the mercy of overflowing rivers, a report said Wednesday.

The floods in June and July claimed the lives of nine people and cost more than three billion pounds after 44,600 homes and 7,100 businesses were flooded.

Last year's events also highlighted the vulnerability of key infrastructure, such as power stations, to flooding.

The government has allocated 800 million pounds to flood management, but the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee warned of a "total lack of awareness" about the vulnerability of hundreds of key sites and "the risks posed by natural hazards are already rising and are predicted to rise further".

Current flood defences focus almost entirely on river and coastal flooding but most of the 2007 floods were caused by a deluge of surface water in Yorkshire, the Midlands and the West Country -- regions not previously thought to be at risk of flooding.

The MPs said no organisation had responsibility for removing surface water, for issuing flood warnings or clearing overflowing drains.

It urged the Environment Agency to take a pivotal role in dealing with such national and local events.

"The public will not forgive the government if it is not seen to be responding to the lessons learnt from the floods of last summer," said committtee chairman Michael Jack MP.

"Our report has shown how confused and chaotic was the infrastructure when it came to preventing and dealing with surface water flooding.

"The government must bring clarity to this situation so that the public, wherever they live, can have peace of mind that every effort is being made to avoid a repeat of the fiasco of last summer," he added.

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