Storm Desmond clean-up to cost up to £500m

CUTS in Government spending on flood defences have come under fire as engineers battle to restore power to more 43,000 homes in Cumbria and Lancashire in the aftermath of Storm Desmond.

Experts say the cost of the storm will exceed those of the 2009 floods. Andrew James, PwC’s North general insurance leader, said: “Our current estimate of the damage caused by Storm Desmond is £400m – £500m with the insurance industry paying out between £250m and £325m.

“This compares to an economic cost of £275m and insurer costs of £175m in the 2009 floods. Clearly these are initial estimates as there is still uncertainty as to the number of properties and businesses affected. If the storm continues, the damage – and therefore the costs – could be significantly worse.”

Meanwhile, Electricity North West has reconnect 42,000 people in Lancashire, but a further 1,500 + homes in Cumbria may have to wait until the middle of the week amid safety fears.

Although Prime Minister David Cameron visited the worst affected areas of the flood zone on Monday, pledging action to help local authorities in the clean up, Conservative MP Neil Parish, chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee, said more money was needed for the UK’s flood defences.

Official Government documents have revealed there is to be a decrease in flood defence spending in England from £802m last year to £695m in this financial year.

The CBI’s North West director Damian Waters said: “The flooding caused by Storm Desmond is devastating for families and businesses affected.
 
“Local communities, businesses and emergency services are showing great resilience and we need to see the Environment Agency working with infrastructure providers as they fight to restore power and utilities.
 
“With the potential cost of these floods running into hundreds of millions of pounds, it is critical that businesses receive clear advice on support available.

“These floods underline once again why we must continue to invest in our flood defences and review existing preparations for potential events like this in the future.  The Government must continue to drive forward the delivery of the 1,400 flood alleviation projects already pledged.”

The Institution of Civil Engineers North West has also called for continued strategic investment in flood defences, following the flood.

North West Regional Director, Darrell Matthews said: “Even flood defences expertly designed to last a century can be overwhelmed by the kind of weather we’ve just experienced.

“We are looking at situations where flood defences have done what they were designed to do, and have held back the floods for as long as possible.

“This has bought time for emergency measures to be taken to keep people safe. The expertise of the engineers involved in designing and building the defences, will also be key in future plans to ensure that Cumbria has a level of defence that protects its people, and their property.”

Trains between England and Scotland via Preston have been cancelled and many roads in the worst affected areas are still closed.

An estimated 5,200 homes have been affected by flooding, and two people have been killed in the severe weather.
 
Meanwhile, paper and technical fibre manufacturer James Cropper said the river Kent, which flows alongside its facility at Burneside, had risen to its highest ever known level and flooded part of its site.

The first and main priority over the weekend was focused on the safety of those working at Burneside and we are pleased to report that despite some challenging circumstances everyone has remained safe.

A company statement said: “There has been some damage caused to warehousing, facilities and materials.
 
“However the implementation of emergency procedures minimised the overall impact and subsequently damage to structures and key equipment appears relatively limited although there will be some disruption as site clean-up operations are undertaken and certain raw materials re-supplied.
 
“Our insurance covers both losses to goods and consequential losses. Excesses are £15,000 for goods and £1m for consequential losses. Our insurers have been notified and we are in discussions whilst accumulating evidence.”

Close