Severe flood warnings in parts of Britain

The British government has held emergency talks as “unprecedented” flooding forced hundreds of people to leave their homes in northern England, including in the historic tourist town of York.

Mr Cameron said that with the prevalence of such extreme weather events on the rise, investment in flood defences would continue.

Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss called a meeting of the government’s COBRA emergency committee yesterday as the problem worsened. The Cobra call has been important because we’ve made a decision to deploy more military resources, more military personnel, to help.

A man uses a canoe to make his way through flooded streets in York city center after the River Ouse bursts its banks Sunday, Dec. 27, 2015.

“More troops are being deployed as part of a plan to do whatever is needed”, Cameron wrote on Twitter.

Calderdale and Leeds were the worst hit areas in the county, with communities in Mythholmroyd, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden, Elland, Brighouse, Sowerby Bridge and Bradford District particularly affected.

More rain is expected in the area Sunday although the downpours are not expected to be as severe as on Saturday.

Police in the York area 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of London advised more than 300 people to leave their homes because of rising river waters.

Hundreds of flood alerts and warnings are in place for England, Wales and Scotland, including more than 30 severe warnings – indicating danger to life.

It’s essential motorists drive with extra care and we’d ask people not to take the risk of driving through anything that looks like deep water – this can cause cars to become stranded but also poses a threat to homes and businesses at the road side, which can suffer damage when passing vehicles create waves.

More than 8,000 people had lost electricity, the power company Electricity North West said late Saturday night.

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“There is still a case for major flood defence schemes but we also want to look at land management and drainage as well”.

Residents in Whalley and Ribchester in Lancashire were forced to abandon homes when flood waters poured through the streets.

York is among the flood-affected towns, and is home to one of Europe’s finest cathedrals, which is about 800 years old.

Electricity North West warned power may not be restored to some homes until Monday.

“What we’ve seen is rainfall levels that nobody’s ever seen before”, Stewart told the BBC Radio 4 Today program.

“I’ve come in this morning and it’s right up to the top of the cellar so we’re now lifting everything up another floor”, she said.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said the burning gas main had since been dealt with. We get it in every year but only up to the door and then it recedes.