Power loss in floods in UK 'unacceptable'

Power stations and water plants in the UK must take part in emergency planning to avoid a repeat of last year's floods when supplies were cut to affected areas, the head of a government review said yesterday.

"We are looking for some big changes in this area," said civil servant Michael Pitt, appointed by the government to study the causes of last year's floods.

"I think it was unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of people lost their power supplies and their water," he told BBC radio. "Those companies must join in the planning for flood emergencies, they must share the appropriate information about their infrastructure, and they must conduct business with emergency planners well before the next flood takes place."

Gloucestershire, the southwest, the Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside suffered severe flooding during June and July last year, costing the economy an estimated three billion pounds.

Mr Pitt has already said he will recommend the creation of a single flood-forecasting and warning centre.