The British government is to set up a review into the flooding that has devastated parts of the country, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced.
This morning Mr Brown saw devastation caused by floods across large swathes of Gloucestershire during a 15-minute helicopter flight.
He said the review would focus on drainage and how the infrastructure could be protected against further flooding.
Local authorities are also set to receive extra funding to pay for emergency work to deal with the flooding. Mr Brown also announced that the Government would increase the amount of money spent on flood and coastal defences across the country.
Thousands of people in Gloucestershire in England are without water today after a treatment works had to be shut down due to flooding from torrential rain.
Bottles of water are being handed out by Severn Trent after its pumps at Mythe Water Treatment Works in Tewkesbury, which serves the towns of Gloucester and Cheltenham, south west England, became engulfed in flood water.
About 70,000 properties are without water, and as many as 140,000 may be affected, a spokesman for the water utility said. It could be days before pumps are working again, and flood water are expected to continue rising, he told the BBC.
Mr Brown is expected to visit a flood-stricken area of western England today to see the damage and recovery efforts.
The Environment Agency issued nine severe flood warnings today, with large parts of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire remaining under water as more than 1,000 people had to spend a second night in emergency shelters.
The Environment Agency has been criticised for its speed of response to the floods, but Environment Secretary Hilary Benn praised the public body's work as well as the efforts of the emergency services.
"We just have to recognise the intensity of the volume of water that's come down and that has resulted in flooding that, even with the best defences in the world, would in some cases have been overtopped," Mr Benn told the BBC.
PA