| UK government submits application for EU flood funding
Whilst this is currently the best working estimate based on work with local authorities and other agencies, the final and confirmed costs will not be known for some time, however the application is being submitted at this stage in order to meet the deadline set out by the Commission but the ability to revise information is standard practice when submitting a bid covering a recovery operation of this size. Although the calculations used to assess whether an application meets the threshold includes insurable costs, the aim of the EUSF is to help Member The European Commission will decide if the application is successful. If successful funds will be available in nine to twelve months time. John Healey said: "This summer's floods caused widespread damage across large parts of the country. The insurance industry estimate that there will be around 45,000 insurance claims from households and 14,500 from businesses with further damage to schools, roads and leisure facilities. There has also been a significant impact on agriculture and the tourist industry. "A huge amount of work across government has taken place to support the local recovery operation and help communities get back on their feet. Over £16million has already been paid out to local authorities to help those people most in need, £14million to support schools and family services and £3million has been made available for transport infrastructure. In addition over £10million has been announced to support businesses and local economies including money to promote rural destinations and visitor attractions. More government help for local authorities will follow through the special Bellwin scheme. "As part of this cross-government work we are exercising our right to apply for support from the EU Solidarity Fund and have today submitted a provisional application. This fund was set up specifically to help countries who have experienced extensive damage from natural disasters such as floods. I would like to thank all those authorities and local agencies who have worked hard to help us put together this complex application so swiftly - and within a month of the July floods. "It will be for the Commission to decide whether our application is successful and this process may take up to a year. If successful we would only receive a proportion of the total costs. That's why it's important we continue to work with insurers, local government, industry and other agencies to ensure life gets back to normal as quickly as possible. We know this will not happen overnight but are firmly committed to working in partnership to achieve this for as long as it takes." The latest figures from the Association of British Insurers on the cost of the June and July floods, and the number of claims received, are as follows: Total cost: approaching £3bn Cost of June floods: £1.5bn Cost of July floods: almost £1.5bn Issues covered in the government's application for funding from the EUSF include: * The initial flooding began in the Yorkshire and Humber region and Midlands regions being affected on 12 June as areas received a month's precipitation in just 24 hours, with some residents requiring rescue by the RAF as floodwaters rapidly rose. 24,000 residential properties were seriously flooded, with many more affected in some way. * In July further rainfall affected the Midlands and South West England and parts of London, with more than 15,500 residential properties affected. TheAssociation of British Insurers estimate around 60,000 householders will claim on their insurance as a result of the June and July floods. * 466 Schools were damaged in the June flooding covering 199,172 pupils and a further 390 schools covering 160,735 pupils were damaged in the July floods. Of these 27 have severe damage with pupils requiring temporary accommodation when the new school year commences in September. * A number of major roads are closed for repairs. Many other minor roads and bridges are still to be repaired and a full survey of roads is currently being carried out. * Many railway lines were submerged or damaged and a number of lines were closed while inspections carried out. * A number of utility sites - including water treatment works and pumping stations - were flooded meaning thousands of households were without running water. The Army was deployed to distribute water to those affected. * Many areas of agricultural land were affected. Some harvests will be considerably lower this year due to the affects on yield and quality. * Livestock has been lost. Other losses include the milk that had to be disposed of due to it not being able to be collected as normal. * Damage has occurred to museums, libraries, archives or galleries in flood hit areas as well as to sports facilities such as public leisure centres, sports clubs and pitches and racecourses. * A number of historic sites have also been affected, for example Birdoswald * There are also losses to the tourism industry. Areas beyond those actually flooded have been affected resulting in cancelled holidays and trips. * Businesses were affected by both premises being flooded, as well as by people being unable to visit business premises because of roads being closed. More than 4000 businesses were flooded, and the Association of British Insurers expects the industry to receive more than 14,500 claims from business.
•Date: 22nd August 2007• Region: UK •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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