English deluge

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the flood-stricken region of Cumberland in northern England on Saturday, seeing for himself the damage wrought by heavy rains.

One man died and hundreds were stranded by the flood waters after more than 300 millimeters (1 foot) of rain fell in 24 hours.

Emergency services airlifted hundreds of stranded residents out of the area as four bridges collapsed in the area and more rains were forecast in part of what has been called a 500 year event.

Brown and his Environment Secretary Hilary Benn met members of the emergency services in the town of Penrith, hailing their "superb response."

"What you have done over the last few days is tackle one of the greatest rainfalls we've seen in our country and you've done it with such superb organisation that I wanted to tell you on behalf of the whole country how proud we are of you," he said.

The one fatality was a policeman, Bill Barker, who was swept away after the bridge he was directing traffic away from collapsed.

The town worst hit was Cockermouth which lies at the confluence of the rivers Cocker and Derwent. The two rivers burst their banks turning the streets of the town into canals.

"My thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been affected and whose homes and livelihoods have been damaged," Queen Elizabeth II said in a message to the afflicted.

In Ireland, too, flooding caused havoc in Cork where 18,000 homes were cut off from water after the main pumping station was damaged. The government rushed to provide shelter, drinking water dispatched soldiers to help those affected.


sjt/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Andreas Illmer