Britain Hit By Further Flooding And Power Cuts

With winds of more than one hundred miles an hour the latest wave of severe weather batters Britain.

MAIDSTONE, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 27, 2013) (ITN) -  Winds of more than one hundred miles an hour have been reported as the latest wave of severe weather batters Britain. The storm has spread east throughout the morning with Northern England and north Wales the worst affected.

Some 13,000 homes across England and Wales had no power on Friday (December 27).Prime Minister David Cameron visted one of the worst affected areas of Yalding in the south of England.

"There are a lot of things that need to be fixed. We need the insurance companies to get round so the loss adjusters can help house holders. We need the council to get round with skips so people can get their carpets and their furniture removed. We need to get the power back on. And then we need to learn the lessons. We are seeing these events take place more often. Now the government is spending more on flood defences over the next four years than over the last four years, there is a lot of flood defences being built. Something like 80 000 houses were protected this time, but we've got to do more. And so we need to work with the Environment Agency and see what more we can do to learn any lessons from this flood and from other floods. But right now the priority is help people recover from the terrible shock of this happening to them on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day."

Heavy storms and rain first hit southern England on Monday (December 23). Forecasts say more storms are on their way before the new year.