Sunday, February 16, 2014

UK government admits failings over flood response


The Irish Times

Weather due to improve over coming days, forecasters predict

British prime minister David Cameron meets soldiers from the  Royal Gurkha Rifles, at a military command centre in Chertsey, southern England. Photograph: Paul Hackett/Reuters

British prime minister David Cameron meets soldiers from the Royal Gurkha Rifles, at a military command centre in Chertsey, southern England. Photograph: Paul Hackett/Reuters


Sun, Feb 16, 2014, 11:41

   
The military could have been brought in earlier to help deal with the winter storms that have been wracking Britain, a Government minister has admitted.
As the weather finally gave the country a respite, defence secretary Philip Hammond defended the government’s handling of the crisis. He said Royal Engineers were now being tasked to carry out a high-speed assessment of “serious” to damage the UK’s flood defence infrastructure.
But Mr Hammond conceded that in future the Government would involve the military earlier in the process, and be more “aggressive” in urging local authorities to use troops. Swathes of the UK remain on high alert as people battle to protect their homes and communities from the floodwaters, which are still expected to rise in places despite the break in the storms.
The Environment Agency (EA) has 16 severe flood warnings in place for the South West and the Thames Valley, with almost 150 flood warnings and 230


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