UK floods: Army to carry out 'rapid inspection' of defences

 
 The Army will check 150,000 flood defences across England over five weeks

The Army is to carry out a "rapid inspection" of England's flood defences within five weeks to assess the damage left by unprecedented flooding. 

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the work would normally take two years.
More than 8,500 properties remain without power following recent storms.
The widow of a cruise ship passenger who died when it was hit by a wave in the English Channel on Friday has said the vessel was "badly maintained".

Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show, Mr Hammond said the government had agreed with the Environment Agency that the Royal Engineers would carry out the inspection of flood defences, starting on 24 February.
About 200 military personnel are expected to be involved.

Parts of Surrey, including Shepperton, are still flooded

 

Some areas, including Chertsey in Surrey, have seen severe flooding in recent days

Mr Hammond also said the government had offered troops to civil authorities "a long while ago".

Philip Hammond said the Army would inspect England's flood defences 

"What we have done over the last 10 days is push them a bit more aggressively at those civil authorities," he said.

He said sending military liaison officers to local "gold commands" - meetings of public bodies such as councils and the fire service, led by the police - had been a "major step forward".
"I think probably we will want to make sure in future that we do that at a very early stage in any emerging problem," he added.

The Ministry of Defence said rules had changed since the start of the flooding so councils could now recoup 100% of costs if they call in the military.
More than 3,000 military personnel have joined flood relief efforts, and Mr Hammond said another 5,000 were on "varying levels of notice" to help flood-stricken communities.

The Welsh government has already carried out a review of its coastal flood defences, which found they had "performed well" in December and January. It said it was spending £4.6m to repair damage done by the storms and support businesses affected.

Defences have prevented homes flooding in many places, including Upton-upon-Severn in Worcestershire

 

 

While the flooding has caused misery for many on the Somerset Levels, some have found ways to enjoy it
 

A local councillor from Berkshire who demanded an Army and police presence to help deal with flooding in Wraysbury said 100 soldiers arrived just hours after Mr Hammond visited the village on Tuesday.
Colin Rayner told the BBC he had not been aware the council could request Army support.

He said he felt the "civilian authorities had been reluctant to call in the Army".

Nearby Datchet could have been saved from flooding had the Army been called in on the Friday to replace a flood defence wall with sandbags, he said.

Better weather BBC Weather's Chris Fawkes said Sunday would be largely dry and sunny, with some showers in Northern Ireland and western parts of England and Wales later.

He said Monday would be "cloudy and damp" for most of the UK, with western coasts and hills getting the most rain. A Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain in south-west England on Monday.
The coming week's weather is expected to be "less stormy" than in recent weeks but there would still be some rain - "particularly during the second half of the week", he added