UK prime minister Rishi Sunak defended the government’s record on flood protection on Sunday as the Environment Agency urged people to stay vigilant as flooding in England continued into the weekend.
Heavy flooding following storm Henk this week has devastated parts of England, leading to severe travel disruption and causing damage to 1,800 homes, according to the Environment Agency.
Sunak has faced criticism over his government’s handling of the floods, with the Labour party accusing the prime minister of “being asleep at the wheel” over flood warnings on Friday.
Speaking to media on a visit to flood-hit Oxford on Sunday, Sunak said the government had spent £5.2bn on flood defences and that 49,000 homes had been protected as a result of that investment.
“Just in the community I’ve been walking around, hundreds of homes have been protected because of those investments,” said Sunak.
“Of course it’s going to be devastating for those who are impacted, which is why there’s financial support in place, but overall investment that’s going into flood defences is at a very, very high level.”
The Environment Agency said on Saturday that while risks were likely to reduce over the weekend, many rivers were elevated, which would cause further impacts in the coming days. On Sunday there were 167 active flood warnings across England.
Katharine Smith, EA flood duty manager, said that continued effects were expected to be felt across parts of the river Thames near Oxfordshire, the River Trent near Nottingham and the River Severn including Gloucester. She urged people not to drive through flood water.
“EA teams are out on the ground, working to minimise the impacts of flooding where possible by operating flood defences and clearing watercourses,” she said.
The shadow cabinet and environment secretaries Pat McFadden and Steve Reed, in a joint statement on Friday, said Labour would convene a Cobra-style flood resilience task force to protect households, if it came to power.
“This is not about extra money. This is about ensuring that the budget already committed to flood defences is used to maximum effect. If that doesn’t happen, homes across the country will remain exposed.”
On Saturday, the government announced that households hit by flooding could apply for a grant of up to £5,000 to help make their homes more resilient, while small and medium sized businesses could receive up to £2,500.
Farmers who have suffered uninsurable damage to their land from exceptional flooding meanwhile will be able to apply for up to £25,000 towards repair and reinstatement costs.