Following The Carlisle Floods

03 January 2006MORE TH>N WARNS FURTHER ACTION IS NEEDED TO PREVENT SIMILAR INCIDENTSThe Great Floods of Carlisle in January 2005 were the worst on record for over 100 years.*Five million people are at risk of flooding in the UK, of which 1.5 million are at high risk from flooding.*Climate change could cause the number of people at high risk from flooding to rise from 1.5 million to 3.5 million.Average flood damage to properties from a significant flood event costs 30,000, according to MORE TH>N.It is one year on from the devastating floods in Carlisle (8/9 January 2005), which affected thousands of homeowners and businesses, many of whom are now re-building their lives back in their restored properties. These floods were the worst for a century and as concerns over climate change continue to grow, the issue of flooding needs to be tackled urgently in order to prevent future disasters of this scale.David Pitt, Head of Insurance at MORE TH>N, comments, "The government has made real progress in addressing the issue of flood protection in England and Wales by including plans to raise investment in recent spending reviews, and acknowledging the role of the Environment Agency in the planning process. However, we can't afford to stop now, particularly with the potential for climate change to affect weather patterns drastically and cause disaster for homeowners and businesses in the future.