ROOF Blog

The UK industry should develop more products to help builders and property owners make the 5.5 million properties at flood risk in England and Wales more resistant and resilient to flooding, Environment Agency chairman Lord Chris Smith says. Speaking at the National Flood Forum annual conference, Lord Smith also encouraged building merchants and DIY stores to offer advice to builders and members of the public on how to make properties more resilient to floods, so that drying out and cleaning up is faster and cheaper following any flooding. A recent Environment Agency study into the devastating floods of summer 2007 found the average cost per flooded home was between £23,000 and £30,000 and a quarter of homeowners were not fully covered by insurance.

Millions of pounds of bridge and road repair funding was announced yesterday for Cumbria, as residents picked their way back into soaked and stinking properties for the first time.

Work will start as soon as is practicable on temporary crossings at the site of wrecked bridges, whose collapse is forcing long detours for people trying to get to work or school.

Priority action is meanwhile targeting structural and power safety checks, as well as clearing debris from rivers.

About 11,000 households north of Workington were warned last night to make arrangements for emergency telephone links if, as expected, the Calva bridge across the Derwent collapses.