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Cumbria takes stock of flood damage (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)
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Cumbria takes stock of flood damage
9:57am Monday 23rd November 2009
Residents of a flood-ravaged town have been allowed back into their homes and businesses to begin the long process of cleaning up the damage.
Police said people could return to the 900 affected properties in Cockermouth in Cumbria after they were checked for sewage contamination, structural stability and electrical safety.
But for most it was not a happy homecoming as they were confronted by the devastation caused by the floods.
Mother-of-one Natalia Ekarad, 28, said she was "devastated" when she returned to her home in Main Street in Cockermouth to find her kitchen and lounge had been ruined.
"We have been here two years and were so happy. Now everything is gone," she said. "My husband and my nine-month-old baby have not come back yet - they are still at a rest centre - and I was dreading coming here today. I just cannot believe it. I have no idea what we will do."
Many homes and businesses in Cumbria remained cut off by collapsed or damaged bridges. Structural engineers and military experts were carrying out an urgent safety review of the county's 1,800 bridges as fears grew that Calva bridge in Workington was on the brink of being swept away.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown today announced emergency funding to help rebuild bridges and roads devastated by the floods.
He said the extra money would be made available to local authorities via the Department for Transport. Investment in flood defences is set to reach £800 million by next year, he said in a speech to the CBI conference in London.
The bad weather has also affected other parts of the country. Chris Wheeler, 46, from Reading, Berkshire, died after becoming trapped under his canoe on the River Dart in Devon on Saturday, and a search is continuing for a woman believed to have been swept into the River Usk in Brecon, South Wales, on Saturday.
The Highways Agency has checked and cleared 90 bridges on major roads in Cumbria.
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An Environment Agency officer inspecting a scene in Cockermouth
Engineers survey the scene after a bridge over the River Derwent collapsed suddenly
An aerial view of the destroyed Northside Bridge, in Workington
An Environment Agency officer inspecting a scene in Cockermouth
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