Flood planning needs 'urgent' changes

Flood risks are growing, and planning for them should be taken as seriously as preparations for flu pandemics or terrorism, a government-commissioned review said on Wednesday.

The report on last summer's devastating floods, by civil servant Michael Pitt, recommended a special Cabinet office be established to monitor flood risk.

It said monthly summaries should be published after flood incidents, detailing the progress of the clear-up, including the number of people still out of their homes.

"The risk of flooding continues to escalate, making the events that shattered so many communities last year an ever-increasing threat," Pitt said.

"I urge the government to show leadership and urgently set out the process and timescale for improving resilience in the UK."

Gloucestershire, the southwest, the Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside suffered severe flooding after heavy rains last June and July, costing the economy an estimated three billion pounds.

The government has pledged to increase spending on flood defences from 650 million pounds in 2008/9 to 700 million pounds a year later, rising to 800 million pounds by 2010/11.

Pitt said the government should ensure that critical power and water infrastructure is as resilient as possible.

"Events of last summer also demonstrated the vulnerability of infrastructure and the dependency of our society on the essential services they provide," he said.

Hundreds of thousands of people were cut off from power and water supplies during the flooding and many have still to return to their homes a year after the deluge.

Pitt called for the Environment Agency and the Met Office to work together to forecast and warn of flood risk.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said the government would produce a detailed response to Pitt's 92 recommendations in the autumn.

"We must recognise that we can never eliminate the risk of flooding, particularly as climate change takes hold," Benn told the House of Commons.

"But all of us - government, water and electricity providers, local communities, and individuals - must take flood risk seriously and be as prepared as we can be to deal with it."

In a separate report, engineers said national utilities were still far too vulnerable to flooding.

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) said spare capacity urgently needed to be built into the national infrastructure.

"Last summer's floods showed us how vulnerable the UK's infrastructure networks are, and little is being done to rectify the situation," said David Balmforth, chairman of ICE's Flooding Group.