BRITAIN:The flooding crisis in England was rising through the night, with the Severn and Thames rivers threatening to overflow and British environment secretary Hilary Benn warning that the emergency is "far from over".
An estimated 350,000 people in Gloucester, Tewkesbury and Cheltenham faced losing their water supplies last night, while some 15,000 homes in Gloucester were without electricity. Hundreds fled their homes as Oxford came under pressure. The Environment Agency warned that the Thames might not reach its peak there until tomorrow.
Water levels are expected to reach their highest in Gloucester this morning; at Bedford, close to the river Ouse; and at Upton-upon-Severn, between Worcester and Tewkesbury. As the Thames winds towards London, the water levels are expected to reach their peak in Reading early tomorrow, and in Windsor, in Berkshire, on Thursday.
British prime minister Gordon Brown ordered a review of the crisis yesterday, after flying over Gloucestershire, the worst affected county, and meeting police chiefs and representatives of the council and other services co-ordinating the emergency response.
Mr Brown, who chaired a meeting of the cabinet's Cobra emergency committee on Sunday night, insisted that everything possible had been and was being done, while acknowledging that the country now faced "major challenges" over infrastructure and drainage issues.
Mr Brown said the review - which Mr Benn later said would be led by an "independent" person - would examine Britain's flood defences, while extra funding would help pay for emergency work in the aftermath of the current crisis.
As the Association of British Insurers estimated the bill for the June and July floods at £2 billion, Baroness Young, head of the Environment Agency, said that about £1 billion a year would be required to improve flood defences.
Mr Brown praised the emergency services and the resilience of local communities as the Environment Agency confirmed that the water levels on the Severn and Thames had exceeded those of the devastating 1947 floods. The unprecedented scenes saw the RAF conduct its biggest operation in peacetime, while army and naval personnel were also drafted in to help in the worst affected areas.
Sainsburys and Tesco were among stores aiding Gloucestershire County Council's distribution of bottled water, while residents were told to boil water provided from tankers.
Health chiefs warned that children should not play in the water, which is polluted and conceals dangers, and said there was a "low risk of infection".
Council chiefs urged people to "be a good neighbour" and watch out for the vulnerable, to keep track of updated advice and to evacuate their homes as and when advised to do so.
A co-ordinated volunteer scheme was also operating through the Red Cross.
However, Gloucestershire's chief constable, Tim Brain, stressed that "a national effort" would be required to restore basic services to the county. And while accepting ministerial assertions that the rainfall and consequent flooding had been "unprecedented", Mr Brain underlined the challenge now facing Mr Brown, saying "it won't be unprecedented from now on".
Responding to Mr Benn's emergency statement in the Commons, Conservative spokesman Peter Ainsworth said they were not interested in "playing a blame game", while asking if sufficient action had been taken by authorities following severe weather warnings from the Met Office last week.
While the cross-party consensus will hold as people face weeks and months of misery as they struggle to recover their homes, lives and businesses, there are continuing questions about budget cuts under Mr Brown when chancellor and a National Audit Office report finding that many flood defences were badly maintained.
The government was also on the defensive yesterday over a housing green paper which insists it is "not realistic" to stop building on flood plains.