Damn this is really bad!
Drinking water has been cut off, cars are being looted and more than 48,000 homes have suffered power cuts after flood waters swamped parts of western England.
Monsoon-like rainstorms have overwhelmed swathes of Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire - and insurers have said the final repair bill could top £2bn.
Stranded residents have been evacuated from their houses by helicopter, and massive disruption has been caused to road and rail networks.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We are going to be increasing the money that goes to flood and coastal defences so that we can be as well protected as possible in the future."
In Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, a Severn Trent water treatment works had to be shut down, leaving 150,000 homes in the area without supplies until Wednesday at the earliest.
The military is taking 600 water tanks into the area while 22 miles of temporary mains are put in place to enable water to be pumped from outside the county.
Emergency crews have been working round the clock to protect electricity substations from the rising waters.
Residents pick up water suppliesThousands in Gloucestershire and parts of Herefordshire were left without power after Castlemeads power station in Gloucester was shut down.
More than 200 people were being evacuated from the dockside area of Gloucester, as the River Severn looked set to reach its highest level since floods in 1947.
The crisis has sparked panic-buying in supermarkets, with shortages of milk, bread, water and petrol all reported.
Thieves have taken advantage of the chaos on the roads by breaking into abandoned cars in Worcestershire.
Upton-upon-Severn, a town in the county, has been completely cut off by floodwater.
Forecasters have said there will be no let-up in the rainfall in the week ahead.
Oxford and then Abingdon, Oxfordshire, are both expected to be hit by deluges as the rain from Friday's torrential storms works its way off the hills and down the Thames.
Flood sightseers are also causing problems for emergency services by ignoring warning signs and pulling over on the roadside to take pictures.
For more news and pictures go to http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1276465,00.html
Drinking water has been cut off, cars are being looted and more than 48,000 homes have suffered power cuts after flood waters swamped parts of western England.
Monsoon-like rainstorms have overwhelmed swathes of Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire - and insurers have said the final repair bill could top £2bn.
Stranded residents have been evacuated from their houses by helicopter, and massive disruption has been caused to road and rail networks.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We are going to be increasing the money that goes to flood and coastal defences so that we can be as well protected as possible in the future."
In Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, a Severn Trent water treatment works had to be shut down, leaving 150,000 homes in the area without supplies until Wednesday at the earliest.
The military is taking 600 water tanks into the area while 22 miles of temporary mains are put in place to enable water to be pumped from outside the county.
Emergency crews have been working round the clock to protect electricity substations from the rising waters.
Residents pick up water suppliesThousands in Gloucestershire and parts of Herefordshire were left without power after Castlemeads power station in Gloucester was shut down.
More than 200 people were being evacuated from the dockside area of Gloucester, as the River Severn looked set to reach its highest level since floods in 1947.
The crisis has sparked panic-buying in supermarkets, with shortages of milk, bread, water and petrol all reported.
Thieves have taken advantage of the chaos on the roads by breaking into abandoned cars in Worcestershire.
Upton-upon-Severn, a town in the county, has been completely cut off by floodwater.
Forecasters have said there will be no let-up in the rainfall in the week ahead.
Oxford and then Abingdon, Oxfordshire, are both expected to be hit by deluges as the rain from Friday's torrential storms works its way off the hills and down the Thames.
Flood sightseers are also causing problems for emergency services by ignoring warning signs and pulling over on the roadside to take pictures.
For more news and pictures go to http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1276465,00.html
