David Cameron Visits Flood-Hit Areas

David Cameron is visiting communities affected by unprecedented flooding and thanking the emergency services in the north of England.

Thousands of people have been affected as river levels keep rising in York - where entire streets have been submerged.

The Prime Minister has promised to "help people in their hour of need" and some 500 soldiers have been drafted in to help.

One thousand more are on standby to help in Leeds, Greater Manchester and swathes of Yorkshire and Lancashire which are also affected.

The River Ouse is around 5.1m above its normal summer levels but the Environment Agency (EA) said its level has now peaked.

The EA has 18 severe flood warnings in place for the North East and North West, meaning there is a danger to life.

There are over 150 other flood warnings and alerts in place across the area and other parts including Wales and the Midlands.

The worst-hit areas will have some respite from rain but the crisis looks set to continue as more bad weather sweeps in.

Sky's weather forecaster Nazaneen Ghaffar said: "Tuesday night into Wednesday is the one to watch as an intense low moves towards Iceland, bringing very heavy rain and strong winds from the west across the UK and Ireland."

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On Sunday officials made the decision to lift York's flood barrier after water entered the Foss barrier building, causing flooding to around 500 properties.

Families were forced to flee from their homes as residential streets were turned into rivers of mud as waters reached record levels.

Residents affected by the deluge said it had been "frightening".

An Army Chinook helicopter has lowered spare parts onto the Foss Barrier so urgent repairs can be carried out.

Engineers have also been examining how to restore power to the barrier building while troops spent Sunday stacking sandbags, until they ran out, forcing the council to beg neighbouring authorities for help.

Thousands of homes in northern England have been left without power, with almost 6,000 hoping to be reconnected today.

One of the flooded substations was in Rochdale, which five years ago had its flood defences given a £470,000 upgrade to protect power supplies against a "one-in-200-year" flood.

Teams from insurance companies have been on the ground in the affected areas. Customers have been advised to get their claims started as soon as possible and to take photos of damaged items.

The floods also affected transport links in the North. Some 16 road closures were in effect in Cumbria, while Northern Rail urged passengers not to travel in Cumbria, East Lancashire and West Yorkshire unless their journey is "absolutely necessary".

Many places have seen record river levels over the past 24 hours, including the River Aire in Leeds, and the rivers Calder and Ribble, affecting places such as Whalley, Hebden Bridge and Ribchester.

West Yorkshire Police declared a major incident after responding to what it said was the "worst flooding in 70 years" in the area.

Judith Blake, the leader of Leeds City Council, said the authority had warned the Government that flooding in Leeds was a "catastrophe waiting to happen".

She called for "significant investment" in additional flood defences for the city to prevent future flooding.

News of the flooding has even reached space, where Major Tim Peake passed over the UK on Sunday in the International Space Station.

He tweeted: "Passed over UK today - thoughts are with all those affected by flooding in northern England."

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