Utility sites left vulnerable
Updated on 24 July 2007
Flood waters have begun receding in some of the worst-hit areas of the UK, although thousands of people are still without power and water.
Emergency services managed to switch on the electricity to more than 48,000 homes in Gloucestershire, but warned it would take between seven and 14 days to restore mains water supplies.
In Gloucester itself, the immediate danger is over - water levels rose to within 2 inches of the city's defences, before they stopped.
It took all night to save the Walham power station from flooding, with miles of pipes used to pump the water back into the river.
But some are already asking why no extra flood defences were built around vital utility sites years ago. The former floods minister Elliot Morley said electricity companies promised new flood barriers back in 2000. Channel 4 News has learnt none have even been started in this area.
Seven severe flood warnings remain in force - from Gloucestershire to Berkshire. Water levels are falling back around Tewkesbury and Gloucester. And overnight flooding from the swollen River Thames in Oxford and Abingdon wasn't as severe as predicted - although levels further downstream are expected to peak later today.
From Gloucestershire the concerns now shift east - in many places the Thames is on the verge of overflowing. As waters rise, three towns are at risk of a surge in flood waters.
River levels at Purley are due to peak at 4pm, at Reading that will happen at midnight, and in Oxford waters will peak tomorrow morning.
In Cambridgeshire, the River Ouse will also experience a rise - St Neots is set to peak at 3am tomorrow morning, and Huntingdon will follow in the late morning. Forecasters don't know if the water levels will lead to flooding.
In Oxford, police and residents spent much of the night preparing for more to come. Sandbags have been put up in almost every doorway, ready for the next time that river waters will peak.
It's a waiting game now, and some are clearly determined to have fun passing the time.
But nearby in Abingdon, the Red Cross was forced to evacuate residential care homes overnight. The organisation has launched a national appeal today, its first in Britain since the 7 July London bombings, such is the scale of this emergency.
