Herbert: Flood warnings have more than trebled since 2006
6 March 2009
Figures obtained by the Conservatives reveal a significant increase in the number of flood warnings issued in the past three years. There were 1,253 flood warnings in 2008, compared to just 382 in 2006. In total, nearly 3,000 flood warnings have been issued across England and Wales since 2006.
Shadow Environment Secretary, Nick Herbert said:
“This is a significant rise, even factoring in some counting changes. Increased risk of flooding as a result of climate change makes it all the more imperative that the necessary legislation is enacted without delay. However, despite Gordon Brown’s promise of a draft Floods Bill almost a year ago, it has still not materialised and little progress has been made.
“As many as one in ten properties are at risk of flooding, a thousand households are still displaced from the 2007 floods, and measures recommended in the Pitt Review are still years away. Ministers need to show greater urgency to protect families and businesses from flood risk.”