More flooding is likely this week after Storm Bert brought torrential rain over the weekend, the environment secretary has said.
Steve Reed said the impact “should be less severe” than it was on Sunday and Monday morning, as communities in England and Wales start a massive clean-up after the widespread flooding.
A former chair of the Environment Agency, Emma Howard Boyd, has said not enough money was spent on maintenance of existing flood defences and recommended a focus on tackling “surface water” flooding.
A severe flood warning is still in place for the River Nene at Billing Aquadrome and nearby business parks in Northamptonshire, while 132 flood warnings remain in place across England and six in Wales.
The Met Office weather forecast shows an area of low pressure moving into southern parts of the UK on Tuesday night into Wednesday, bringing heavy rain for some.
Mike Silverstone, the deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “On Tuesday night we’ll see outbreaks of rain spreading north-eastwards, which could be heavy at times.
“We’re expected this to be heaviest across the south [and] south-east of England, although subtle changes over the next 24 hours will have an impact on how this develops. There could also be strong winds for a time, and it’s possible this will require a weather warning.”
Hundreds of homes were flooded, roads were turned into rivers and winds of more than 80mph were recorded across parts of the UK.
People in some affected areas have said they do not believe the chaos will be cleared by Christmas.
Extreme rainfall is more common and more intense because of human-caused climate breakdown across most of the world, particularly in Europe. This is because warmer air can hold more water vapour. Flooding has most likely become more frequent and severe as a result.
Howard Boyd told Radio 4 that during her time at the Environment Agency “one of the areas that we struggled with getting more money to … was on the maintenance of our flood defences”.
“The ongoing maintenance is so important to making sure that the existing infrastructure that we’ve got is fit for purpose,” she said. “Another area that we really need to be aware of … with warmer, wetter winters, we need to be ready for surface water flooding, and this is roughly accountable for 60% of our flooding, and needs a very different response to the flood defences that we see up and down the country.”
Reed told the House of Commons on Monday evening that an estimated 107 properties have flooded across England.
He added: “Further flooding is sadly likely over the next few days as water levels rise in slower flowing rivers such as the Severn and the Ouse.
“The Environment Agency anticipates that any impacts should be less severe than we have seen in recent days.”
A man in his 80s died after his car entered water at a ford in Colne, Lancashire, on Saturday, while a body was found in the search for Brian Perry, 75, who went missing while walking his dog near the Afon Conwy River in north Wales on the same day.
