MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Worst floods in 60 years hit UK; next 36 hours critical

Flood water threatens the town of Upton-upon-Severn

The United Kingdom emergency responses committee met Monday amid fears a power substation supplying thousands of homes in Gloucester may be lost to flooding, considered the worst since 1947.

Unprecedented weather on Friday - the equivalent of a month's rain in an hour - left tens of thousands of people without clean water or electricity. Areas hit hardest by flooding are Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The next 24 to 26 hours are considered critical. The Cobra meeting came amid mounting concern the Walham station would not be saved and as many as 250,000 people would lose power and water supplies. Residents along the Thames in Berkshire and Oxfordshire are bracing themselves for possible flooding overnight. Almost 350,000 homes are without running water and some 50,000 are without power as the flooding crisis continues in central and west England. In spite of fears that the flood has yet to reach a critical point the Environment Agency said the River Severn at Gloucester had peaked 50mm below the main wall protecting the station, suggesting the fears may prove unfounded. The armed forces were earlier drafted in to help emergency services build a temporary barrier around the switching station, which also provides power to water pumping equipment. If Walham is lost it is thought it could take at least five days to get the power back, but contingency plans are being examined to provide alternative power and water supplies to customers, our correspondent added. National Grid spokeswoman Sarah Harris said everything possible was being done to stop the station from going down. The ministerial-level meeting of Cobra came after it emerged that the water levels of both the Thames and Severn have exceeded those of devastating floods in 1947. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has assured the area of government support if it closes. Earlier in the day he flew by helicopter over Gloucestershire before heading to the police headquarters where the county's emergency response is being coordinated. The Environment Agency said water levels on the Thames in Oxford were expected to peak at midnight, while the River Severn at Gloucester could peak early on Tuesday. The Environment Agency has seven severe flood warnings in place - three on the Severn, two on the Thames, and one each on the Great Ouse in Bedfordshire and the Ock in Oxfordshire. At their height, some rivers will be more than 20ft higher than normal. Severn Trent Water earlier warned all residents in Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury would lose their supply by Monday evening due to a treatment works being flooded. The situation is expected to last several days, it said. Elsewhere in Gloucestershire, 15,000 homes are still without power after a major electricity substation at Castlemeads was turned off because of the rising water. Over the border, parts of Worcestershire were under 6feet of water and the Army has been deployed to help emergency services provide supplies to people in Upton-upon-Severn. Warwickshire and Berkshire have also been badly affected and severe warnings remain in place for Oxfordshire. Residents at risk of flooding in Oxford have been told to leave their homes as water levels are expected to rise. Some homes in Oxford, Abingdon, Kidlington and Bladon have already been flooded and conditions are expected to deteriorate. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn told the House of Commons the emergency was "far from over" and further flooding was "very likely". An independent person would head the flood review announced by the prime minister, he confirmed. Environment Agency chief executive Baroness Young was quoted by BBC saying that about one billion sterling (2 billion US dollars) a year was needed to improve flood defenses. The Association of British Insurers has said the total bill for the June and July floods could reach at least £2 billion.