Summer flood victims expect repeat

Residents in areas affected by the summer flooding are concerned that immediate action to overhaul the drainage systems is needed to prevent future re-occurrences of their woes.

Six out of ten people think it is likely that they will be flooded again, and on the same scale.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is also calling upon the government to develop a 25-year strategy. The plan, which would encompass the next five parliaments, would co-ordinate local authority proposals into a national commitment under a central management strategy and would control builders to ensure that new housing would not exacerbate the drainage further.

Stephen Haddrill, director general of the ABI, stresses: "Insurers want to continue to provide flood insurance.

"The right decisions from the government will ensure that flood insurance remains widely available and affordable in the UK."

Two-thirds of summer flood victims had said that travel disruption, caused by the floods, had affected them, whereas only three in 20 had sustained property damage.

05/12/2007 11:46:57