Experts warn flooding threat requires long-term rethink

A fire truck attempts to wade through flooding in Wraysbury, Berkshire. Credit: Press Association

The waters rise fast - the effects will be far more long lasting.

Today I'm talking to experts who have a warning they hope government and public will heed - we are not designing an ability to cope with flooding into our big networks.

Power, roads, rail and communications are some of the big networks that form our national backbone.

Yet at present there is no single agency responsible for ensuring they are resilient against the flood threat.

Firefighters wade through flooding in Wraysbury, Berkshire. Credit: Press Association

There is very little incentive for private utility companies to build-in spare capacity. It means when floods happens there is hardly any slack in the system.

Our big networks have become intertwined - for example if power fails water can't be pumped. The floods need to lead us to a strategic rethink - not just an emergency response.