Downing Street Says

Asked for an update on the situation regarding flooding, the PMS said that there had been a first COBR meeting involving Ministers and chaired by the Prime Minister at just before 7pm yesterday; there had been a second COBR meeting chaired by the Prime Minister at 6am today with, Hilary Benn, Ed Miliband, and the Environment Agency, among others, with the Gold Command in Norfolk and Suffolk on the line, to ensure that all necessary preparations were in place ahead of the anticipated tidal surge. There would be a further Ministerial COBR meeting around lunchtime chaired by Hilary Benn. John Healey, the Floods Recovery Minister, and Barbara Follett, the regional Minister for the East of England were expected to travel to the affected areas during the course of today.

Asked for thoughts on how the emergency operation had gone, the PMS said that the emergency operation was ongoing. The Government was grateful to all of the emergency services, the local authorities and the Environment Agency for their preparedness, and importantly, to local people for pulling together and cooperating. Clearly this was an ongoing situation and although the worst had passed in terms of the peak of the tidal surge, there remained a risk of flooding so it was still important for members of the public to heed messages re keeping away from effected coasts; to be aware of the dangers from the high tides and to listen to local advice from emergency services and local councils.

Asked about financial help, the PMS said that the situation was still at a very early stage. At the moment it was not clear what the extent of any damage was but there were well-established mechanisms in place to provide central Government assistance for the cost of any clean-ups.

Asked if the response had been appropriate given the fact that the flooding seemed to be quite limited, the PMS said that you should always be prepared and there could be no room for complacency in these situations. There were very serious warnings given by the Met Office which were acted upon by the Environment Agency. The PMS went on to stress that this was an ongoing situation, and although the worst in terms of the peak of the surge appeared to be behind us, there continued to be a risk of flooding.

Asked if there had been lessons learnt from the summer flooding re preparations and if the Prime Minister planned to visit any of the effected areas, the PMS said that you always continue to look at your practices and procedures as faced by these different events. In relation to the Prime Minister’s ongoing involvement, he was being kept informed of the situation whilst on his visit to the West Midlands and would be updated again following the COBR meeting at lunchtime. There were no current plans for him to visit the region.

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» Friday, November 9, 2007

Flooding

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