Post date: Feb 07, 2014 5:45:17 PM
Residents in storm-hit areas of Britain have ramped up criticism of their government's main agency for flood defence, saying not enough was done to prepare for bouts of heavy rainfall. The UK has this winter faced some of the stormiest weather seen in the past two decades.
MOORLAND, SOMERSET, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FEBRUARY 7, 2014) (UK POOL) - Britain's Environment Agency faced criticism from householders on Friday (February 7) as flood waters continued to wreak havoc in villages across the South-West county of Somerset.
The agency has been criticised for being slow to act when the region was first hit by flood waters late last year. It has also come under fire for neglecting to remove excess mud and vegetation from the beds of rivers over recent years, which is thought to have contributed to high water levels.In the village of Moorland, units from the Royal Marines helped prepare flood defences, as local emergency services continued to urge people to evacuate the area after heavy flooding.
Local residents, Phil and Lana Smithen, evacuated their home in the village on Friday after the flood water level in their property rose overnight.
The Smithens have lived in Moorland for 39 years and said they were "devastated" to have to leave their home.
"We've built a home that we love living in, in a village that we love living in, because the people in this village are second to none, and look at it," Phil Smithen said.
"I mean, you know, I feel seriously angry about this," he continued.
Other people in the area shared his sentiment, claiming that despite the good work being done by rescue workers, the authorities were to blame for the ongoing problems.
"The men on the ground are doing a fantastic job, but the men at the top don't know nothing, don't know what they're doing. They need to get their act together," said builder Joe Notaro.
The Chairman of the Environment Agency, Lord Smith, visited the region ofSomerset Levels on Friday for the first time since it was hit by floods. After meeting with local residents in the village of Stoke St Gregory, Smith refused to apologise or resign over claims that the organisation has failed to deal with the flooding crisis. Instead he insisted he was incredibly proud of the work being carried out by the Agency's staff around the country.
However, local resident and businessman Jim Winkworth, was not satisfied with Lord Smith's response.
"Basically what we want to happen is we want the man to stand up and say 'I'm very sorry, we've got this wrong, we should have been, done this twelve months ago, we haven't, we'll do everything we can now to put things right.' That's what we want to hear but we're not hearing it", Winkworth told reporters following the meeting.
Weather warnings continue to be in place across large parts of the UK, with more severe weather expected over the weekend.