The humanitarian crisis in central and western England was deepening last night with up to one million people affected by the worst floods in modern history.Thousands are poised to evacuate their homes with the banks of the two largest rivers in Britain, the Severn and the Thames, threatening to burst.
Up to 350,000 people in Gloucestershire could be without running water for up to two weeks, authorities said yesterday as they warned that it could be a year before some evacuated families are able to move back to their devastated homes.
| The heart of England has been paralysed, with scores of towns and villages submerged or cut off. |
| Waters stopped just short of breaching defences and engulfing a power station serving half a million homes. |
Analysis of the latest data from county councils by The Daily Telegraph shows that up to one million people have already been affected.
Fresh water tankers and bottled supplies are struggling to get through to all the flooded areas and supermarkets have had a rash of panic buying with police being called in to control desperate crowds.
The Environment Agency said the situation remained "critical", with eight severe flood warnings in place across Britain. Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, warned last night that what had become a massive civil emergency was "far from over".
The Thames in Abingdon, Oxon, rose 3ft in less than 12 hours to a "perilously high" level and flooding is expected to peak in the next 24 hours. Some rivers are already 20ft above normal levels.
Oxford, Abingdon and even Reading farther down stream could be badly hit if a predicted water surge materialises, experts said.
Anthony Perry, an Environment Agency flood risk official, said: "We have not seen flooding of this magnitude before. The benchmark was 1947 and this has already exceeded it."
| details at the link, including rescue efforts and power/nuclear stations still at risk. |