MPs say country still unprepared for floods

By Michael Holden Reuters - Wednesday, May 7 08:43 am

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is still underprepared for the sort of flooding which devastated much of the country last summer with measures to cope with floods in a "chaotic state", a report by a committee of MPs said on Wednesday.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said there had been a "total lack of awareness" about how vulnerable many parts of the country were to flooding before last year's downpours.

It also warned that an extra 800 million pounds the government has set aside to improve the handling of flood risks is not adequate.

More than 55,000 homes and businesses across central, northern and southwest England were affected by floods last year which killed nine people and left an insurance bill of around 3 billion pounds.

"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 Michael Jack, the committee's chairman.

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

The report said flood defence measures have been focused almost solely on river and coastal defences, with plans to cope with heavy rainfall in an "unclear and chaotic state".

No organisation had responsibility for dealing with surface water at a local or national level, and when drains began to overflow it was hard to see who was responsible for the drainage system, the committee said.

One of the victims of the floods, Michael Barnett, 28, died of hypothermia after his leg became trapped in a flood drain and he was engulfed by flood water.

The MPs said that ministers had to stop "pretending that all will be well" because the government was increasing spending on flood defences by 800 million pounds by 2010/11.

"This settlement looks far less impressive under close analysis and is not fully adequate to cope with the risks the country faces," the report said.

Council leaders backed the committee's call for clarity over who has responsibility for managing flood risks, saying water company bosses should be forced to work with local authorities.

"The current system is fundamentally flawed," said Councillor Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association's Environment Board.

"We simply cannot continue to have a situation where it is not clear who is responsible for dealing with vitally important functions such as drainage."

Conservative environment spokesman Peter Ainsworth said that without decisive action, the government was "sleepwalking the country" into another disaster.

(Editing by Steve Addison)

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