UK army joins rescue teams amid severe flooding

The Environment Agency is having to review its flood defences after a deluge from Storm Desmond overwhelmed new multimillion-pound barriers and left a trail of devastation across Cumbria.

He said: “We have been working in Penrith and Kendal but this morning were mobilised to Carlisle which has been very badly affected”.

Britain’s Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said it appeared that a record amount of rain had fallen in a 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday evening.

A normal rail service is expected to run today on the East Coast Main Line, which also connects Scottish cities with London, but journeys with CrossCountry and Virgin East Coast are expected to be a lot busier than normal.

Cameron discussed the flooding for just under an hour with the government’s emergency committee earlier on Monday, working out how best to help those affected by the record rains and whether Britain’s flood defences were adequate.

Tayside firefighters had water pumps in action to tackle flooding in the Bridge of Earn area.

More than 2,000 homes and businesses in the county were flooded and nearly 60,000 homes in the county were left without power throughout Sunday as the floods damaged substations and caused electrical faults.

Flooded: Hawick Rugby and Football Club on Sunday.

Nearly 20 properties in Blair Atholl were evacuated for a time on Saturday after the Garry Burn burst its banks.

Mr Pannone praised the team effort of Cumbrians and emergency services and partner agencies.

Environment Agency chief executive Sir James Bevan said the EA would have to review what happened in Cumbria to “learn the lessons for the future”. “This event has seen some of the highest river flows for a considerable time”. “The Teviot at Hawick was the second highest in 30 years”.

Men from the borders water rescue team in Hawick, Scotland, as Storm Desmond hits the UK.

He said: “Tuesday will bring more rain everywhere and there is a risk of gales, especially around coastal areas, as a wild system moves in throughout Wednesday and Thursday”. Experts will be at affected sites throughout the day, assessing damage and beginning repairs.

A woman is helped through flood waters by members of the royal national lifeboat institute and the armed forces following flooding in Carlisle north west England on December 6, 2015.

Lancashire fire and rescue service said it dealt with more than 300 calls for help in Lancaster and surrounding areas, ranging from cars stuck in rising water, road collisions and fires. There are now no trains running between England and Scotland, and a large number of roads are closed across the United Kingdom and Ireland.