Hundreds of people were evacuated as river levels rose and in places surged through flood defences while rain continued to wreak havoc across Britain yesterday.
Householders have already evacuated 900 properties after deluges left many uninhabitable and caused road and rail chaos.
Residents were warned to leave another 500 homes in the beleaguered city of St Asaph in North Wales.
Though forecasters offered some hope of respite – with rain predicted to ease off – the Environment Agency (EA) warned of a continued flooding threat across northeast England, North Wales and Northamptonshire.
River levels are set to peak in the next 48 hours, putting further properties at risk, with the Thames, Trent and Severn deemed to be of particular concern.
Rising groundwater levels are also threatening to leave homes in Winterbourne Abbas, Dorset, under water.
Four people have died since the latest bout of wet weather struck, and the latest figures show around 960 properties have flooded since last Wednesday.
A man killed when his 4x4 was submerged after getting wedged under a bridge in Somerset was reported to have been John McNair, a 77-year-old grandfather of 10.
The Evening Standard reported that Mr McNair, the former chairman of the East Lewisham Conservative Association in London, was on his way home to his farm in Painscastle, Powys, after visiting his son in the village of Chew Stoke when he died on Thursday.
John Curtin, of the EA, said: “Environment Agency flood defences have protected some 55,000 homes and our teams are continuing to work around the clock with local emergency services to keep communities safe.
“People should sign up for free flood warnings, keep up to date with the latest situation on our website, and stay away from dangerous flood water.”
The EA has 266 flood alerts and 200 flood warnings in place in England and Wales. There was further disruption for thousands of drivers, while train services were subject to hold-ups in the West Country. The North East also experienced rail problems, with buses having to replace trains on some routes.
Parts of a new £45 million defence scheme in Nottingham – which was opened in September – have been put into action for the first time, while teams have deployed mobile defences to protect properties in Oxford, the EA said.
Meanwhile, councils have placed thousands of tonnes of sandbags, water pumps and emergency accommodation at the ready.
Forecasters said the heavy rain would soon abate but with some areas already saturated, any wet weather could still cause problems. Meanwhile, freezing temperatures are expected to take hold of the UK over the next few days, with snow forecast to hit many coastal areas. Gemma Plumb, a spokeswoman for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: “Although the rain was lighter last night than previous days, the rain fell on already saturated surfaces adding to the risk of flooding.
It will become increasingly drier in most places as we go through today, with just East Anglia and south east England holding on to the rain.”
Prime Minister David Cameron visited flood-ravaged homes in Buckfastleigh, Devon, where he told residents the Government would do everything to “help them with the recovery”. Mr Cameron also promised to take a “tough approach” on negotiations with insurers over homes in danger of flooding.
Up to 200,000 high risk properties could be priced out of affordable cover when a deal struck in 2000 between the then Labour government and insurers ends next summer.
After meeting householders in Buckfastleigh, which was struck by flash flooding at the weekend, he said: “It is obviously very traumatic when communities are hit by flooding like this but what I found are people are incredibly steadfast and have behaved incredibly bravely at handling the flood and now we need to help them with the recovery.”