:00:10. > :00:16.Wild winds clad torrential rain and high tides. For five weeks, Britain
:00:17. > :00:19.has been battered by extreme weather. Tonight we look at the
:00:20. > :00:28.scale of the damage and tried to count the cost.
:00:29. > :00:36.Tonight, we will be live from the village that has become an island,
:00:37. > :00:43.its residents stranded for a week. It began with a title search along
:00:44. > :00:50.the East Coast, the highest for 60 years. -- a tidal surge. Christmas
:00:51. > :00:55.was cancelled for many. A quarter of a million homes were left without
:00:56. > :01:00.power. 94 flood warnings are still in place, most in southern England.
:01:01. > :01:06.Some of the worst flooding is in terms, from Oxford down to Surrey.
:01:07. > :01:10.We will find out if Britain has the defence is needed for the weeks and
:01:11. > :01:18.years ahead. Just how much will all this cost? Britain has just been
:01:19. > :01:23.through its stormiest December for at least 45 years. Wind speeds
:01:24. > :01:30.reached more than 100 Mars and hour in some parts of the UK. Scotland
:01:31. > :01:37.had its wettest month on record. It has claimed some lives. Floodwaters
:01:38. > :01:40.are still rising in some places. This report from Somerset tonight in
:01:41. > :01:48.a village that is still completely cut off. Good evening from
:01:49. > :01:53.Muchelney. If you are sitting at home tonight, thinking the worst of
:01:54. > :01:58.the storms are over, lucky you. They do not feel that way here. This
:01:59. > :02:05.village is an island. That is the main road. We had to come in by boat
:02:06. > :02:11.this afternoon. An alternative route? Also completely blocked off.
:02:12. > :02:16.This is just one community of many still living with the consequences
:02:17. > :02:42.of all that weather. Let's have a look back at a month of extremes.
:02:43. > :02:53.Christmas is off for us. The battering began in early December.
:02:54. > :03:01.The biggest tidal surge in 60 years along the East Coast. In
:03:02. > :03:07.Scarborough, this band driver was lucky to escape. Some people lost
:03:08. > :03:18.everything. We stood by the patio doors and we could see the kitchen
:03:19. > :03:25.fold. As the months went on, storms hit more and more of the UK. It has
:03:26. > :03:31.been like this since first thing this morning in the south-west of
:03:32. > :03:37.England. Not exactly a festive start to Christmas week. Here, in
:03:38. > :03:44.Somerset, they were expecting Father Christmas but Mother Nature got here
:03:45. > :03:49.first. People are not going to be very happy and I am not happy.
:03:50. > :03:56.Hundreds of homes in many regions were flooded. A festive wash-out.
:03:57. > :04:04.Christmas is off. I was looking forward to it. It is like the water
:04:05. > :04:16.is coming in and coming in. It is so quick. Chris Reay never sang about
:04:17. > :04:22.this. As millions headed home, the transport systems struggled to cope.
:04:23. > :04:28.It is horrendous. We have been envying all those people flying off
:04:29. > :04:34.to somewhere warm and sunny. Or maybe not for those hoping to leave
:04:35. > :04:38.Gatwick, where power cuts meant cancellations, delays and even
:04:39. > :04:48.police behind the check-in desks. We know there are people who have been
:04:49. > :04:54.here over seven hours. Anyone racing for a train probably did not need to
:04:55. > :05:00.hurry. It is announced this service has been cancelled this evening. In
:05:01. > :05:07.Ayrshire, a white Christmas but only due to the foamy seeds. Some ferries
:05:08. > :05:13.kept running. We did not get very much sleep. We were worrying we
:05:14. > :05:17.would not get home for Christmas. Power companies are criticised for
:05:18. > :05:22.failing to connect thousands of people in time for Christmas day. My
:05:23. > :05:30.main worry is the fridge. I have a techie which I've bought. In Surrey,
:05:31. > :05:37.this family had to spend Christmas by candlelight. I was going to cook
:05:38. > :05:42.but I could not because I have no electric. On a trip to Kent, the
:05:43. > :05:50.Prime Minister was confronted by an angry resident. Street by street,
:05:51. > :05:54.things gradually returned to normal. The Government said next time
:05:55. > :06:03.Britain would be better prepared. We did not need to wait long. The New
:06:04. > :06:11.Year brought more of the same old weather. It hit Cornwall first. Look
:06:12. > :06:19.at that! It is spectacular. Fantastic! You can see the force of
:06:20. > :06:23.the water here in Ardrossan, breaking against this shore front.
:06:24. > :06:30.The Victorian promenade in Aberystwyth was hammered. This
:06:31. > :06:37.gymnasium is left full of rocks and seaweed. It has ruined everything.
:06:38. > :06:45.It is the second time it has happened in a few months. The power
:06:46. > :06:49.of the sea is so strong. So many communities were affected, like
:06:50. > :06:55.County Down, hit by blistering winds, exceptionally high tides and
:06:56. > :07:00.more heavy rain. Inland, that rain has been falling on already
:07:01. > :07:05.saturated ground, leaving large areas under water. On the Somerset
:07:06. > :07:10.levels, the village of Muchelney is now cut off. We joined the rescue
:07:11. > :07:18.teams as they delivered supplies, dodging the dangers. That was a
:07:19. > :07:23.car. It shows you how deep the water is here. After the windiest December
:07:24. > :07:31.in 50 years, and the wettest in two decades, a dismal start to 2014. Now
:07:32. > :07:40.it is the Thames that is causing most concern. Britain is soaking and
:07:41. > :07:45.just needs a break. They certainly feel that they need a break here in
:07:46. > :07:50.Muchelney. Join us later when we will talk to some of the people who
:07:51. > :07:53.live here. We will ask them how they will cope, cut off like this and
:07:54. > :07:59.what can be done to prevent this happening again. It happened last
:08:00. > :08:05.year as well. In the meantime, back to you on the mainland. Here with me
:08:06. > :08:10.are Carol Kirkwood and David Shukman. We have seen some of the
:08:11. > :08:15.most extreme weather for half a century in places. We expect storms
:08:16. > :08:21.in the winter and low pressure area to rattle across us. This has been
:08:22. > :08:26.exceptional. It has been at high speed and it has been very potent. I
:08:27. > :08:32.will show you some satellite pictures to illustrate this nicely
:08:33. > :08:37.and explain why it happened. They are talking about Muchelney. You are
:08:38. > :08:41.looking at how well Britain is protected. Eyesore literally an
:08:42. > :08:50.ocean of flood water covering the seven Valley. -- eyesore. I have
:08:51. > :08:54.just been down to the Thames barrier. They have been working
:08:55. > :08:59.around the clock so I have been seeing how they have been getting
:09:00. > :09:04.on. Hundreds of thousands of homes lost power over Christmas, including
:09:05. > :09:07.the village of Yalding in Kent. What has it been like for the residents
:09:08. > :09:18.whose Christmas was effectively cancelled? Yalding is well used to
:09:19. > :09:22.floods. Over Christmas, sandbags would have done very little good.
:09:23. > :09:27.The water flowed in so far that it would have been up to my neck or
:09:28. > :09:33.deeper. All around me now, darkened windows. The consequences of that
:09:34. > :09:41.deluge, that lad. Others are stripping their homes back to the
:09:42. > :09:47.brickwork. They are learning to pull together. Villagers have found
:09:48. > :09:53.resolve and a sense of purpose. Yalding, on a crisp, dry winters
:09:54. > :09:57.day. The three rivers that need here are beautiful in summer but
:09:58. > :10:02.potentially lethal at times of flood. This Christmas was worse than
:10:03. > :10:07.anyone can remember. A muddy torrent, up to six feet deep, surged
:10:08. > :10:10.down the main street, flooding through homes and businesses.
:10:11. > :10:19.Villagers could only retreat to upper floors and wait for help to a
:10:20. > :10:26.arrive. I met two people who became friends. Dave struggled out of his
:10:27. > :10:31.home to reach his canoe and neighbours. I was paddling as well
:10:32. > :10:37.as I could. The currents were dragging me into the vehicles. You
:10:38. > :10:43.cannot really appreciate it. David went past and said, we need to get
:10:44. > :10:55.out, can you come and get us? To stabilise it, we waged a canoe in
:10:56. > :11:00.the gate. It was not easy. Down the street, the insurance assessor had
:11:01. > :11:05.arrived to see June Chapman. They run the village post office.
:11:06. > :11:12.Christmas is a muddy tangle of furniture and ruined food. My best
:11:13. > :11:17.present was a tin of biscuits from a customer. Some days you are fine,
:11:18. > :11:28.other days you do not talk to anyone. It is overwhelming. There
:11:29. > :11:33.have been moments when anger and frustration boiled over. Like the
:11:34. > :11:41.day when Erica confronted the Prime minister outside her home. It was
:11:42. > :11:46.like the village was alive. The council was here with lorries. The
:11:47. > :11:51.Environment Agency was here. The Fire Brigade was here. There was
:11:52. > :11:59.more help than we could believe. It had paid off but why did I have to
:12:00. > :12:09.say that to get this work done? A small parcel first-class accorded
:12:10. > :12:14.is... ? Villagers are also sharing appreciation of the community spirit
:12:15. > :12:19.that is getting them through. Everyone in the village has been
:12:20. > :12:24.wonderful, more than wonderful. We would not have anywhere to live
:12:25. > :12:33.without some coming into the post office. I cannot thank them enough.
:12:34. > :12:37.Tonight, in the village hall, the show is going on. Flood victims
:12:38. > :12:41.joining the cast of a brand-new review to show that Yalding can rise
:12:42. > :12:48.above its problems. After everything I heard and seen, I was not
:12:49. > :12:52.surprised to learn it had sold out. Carol, you have been tracking these
:12:53. > :13:03.storms since the first tidal surge on the 5th of December. Because they
:13:04. > :13:09.have been relentless, it has caused us all these problems. If I show you
:13:10. > :13:16.the satellite picture, you can see what I mean. Low pressure of the
:13:17. > :13:20.low-pressure. It has brought torrential rain which is falling on
:13:21. > :13:25.saturated ground. We now need some dry weather to help the situation
:13:26. > :13:32.completely. The reason it has been driven our way is because of a very
:13:33. > :13:36.strong jet stream. A jet stream is a ribbon of fast moving air which is
:13:37. > :13:41.where the planes fly. It is moving quickly and picking up the areas of
:13:42. > :13:48.low pressure. They have been chucking them out over the UK. We
:13:49. > :13:54.have been getting very potent storms crossing our shores. Why is the jet
:13:55. > :13:58.stream so potent? It is because of a thermal gradient. In the charts, we
:13:59. > :14:03.have the blue at the top indicating it is cold and the milder air in
:14:04. > :14:08.from the bottom with the jet stream in the middle. The jet stream
:14:09. > :14:13.normally travels between 100 and 200 miles an hour. In the last couple of
:14:14. > :14:19.weeks, it has been travelling as much as 300 miles an hour. You can
:14:20. > :14:24.see the potency be storms have. They wreak havoc as they come across the
:14:25. > :14:31.British Isles. Is there more to come? We are still in winter. We can
:14:32. > :14:36.expect more rain. Some will be coming in from the worst on Sunday
:14:37. > :14:41.and it will push steadily eastwards. You look at the impact it has all
:14:42. > :14:48.had. At least 2000 homes are flooded. That is not to mention
:14:49. > :14:51.businesses and farmland. Are we well enough protected? Over the years I
:14:52. > :14:56.have been to places that have been flooded and it is disastrous for
:14:57. > :15:01.people. Broadly, the national picture is that the flood defence
:15:02. > :15:05.network has worked pretty well. Let's bear in mind that there are
:15:06. > :15:11.rising river levels and the threat does continue.
:15:12. > :15:20.The mighty gates of the Thames barrier facing waves of hostile
:15:21. > :15:27.weather. They have guarded against floods 13 times. At last the rain is
:15:28. > :15:31.over. Andy Batchelor and his team have been on alert for surges inflow
:15:32. > :15:37.which could threaten London and homes far up stream. A service
:15:38. > :15:43.tunnel runs beneath the barrier. The technology is from the 1960s but it
:15:44. > :15:47.is proving invaluable decades later. The great pistons which close the
:15:48. > :15:50.barriers did their job. How do you feel the country has done in terms
:15:51. > :15:56.of coping with this terrible weather? You can never plan and
:15:57. > :16:02.manage everything. We can only build to certain standards. The defences
:16:03. > :16:07.have performed really well. Some have been over the top because this
:16:08. > :16:10.has been a major event. This is the most famous flood barrier in Britain
:16:11. > :16:15.with its vital role of defending the capital just up the river there. But
:16:16. > :16:20.it is part of a network of thousands of miles of flood defences around
:16:21. > :16:24.the coastline and beside the rivers. What is unusual about the weather
:16:25. > :16:28.over the last few weeks is that all of those defences, at roughly the
:16:29. > :16:34.same time, have been put to the test. So, as intense barrages of
:16:35. > :16:41.rain swept over the country, how did the defences cope? On Monday, I saw
:16:42. > :16:45.the ocean covering the seven Valley. There are places where the defences
:16:46. > :16:51.have been overwhelmed but what is remarkable is how well they have
:16:52. > :16:56.done their job. But there is now so much water the threat of further
:16:57. > :17:00.flooding is not over. The River Thames here is carrying 400 tonnes
:17:01. > :17:05.of water every second. An Environment Agency team deploys a
:17:06. > :17:10.remit it controlled boat to measure the flood, a vital task. But this
:17:11. > :17:15.comes as people are asking if the government should be doing more. How
:17:16. > :17:20.do you look people in the eye who have been flooded and say we are
:17:21. > :17:23.doing the right thing? What I say to people is I set out the fact that we
:17:24. > :17:29.are spending more money than has been spent in the past. We are
:17:30. > :17:34.bringing in 148 million of outside funding so more schemes can be
:17:35. > :17:39.funded. New defences are being built but the Environment Agency is also
:17:40. > :17:43.being cut. Flooding is handled separately in Scotland and Wales.
:17:44. > :17:51.The latest floods raze hard questions about what needs to be
:17:52. > :17:55.done. Looking ahead, David Cameron has been talking about how he
:17:56. > :18:03.suspects Climate Change Act may be involved in this flooding incident.
:18:04. > :18:05.-- climb it change. A lot of scientists are cautious but they do
:18:06. > :18:09.say the atmosphere gets warmer it can hold more moisture and has the
:18:10. > :18:14.potential to produce more violent, extreme weather. As there are more
:18:15. > :18:18.people living in Britain, in flood plains in vulnerable areas, this
:18:19. > :18:22.whole question about how we defend people will become more important.
:18:23. > :18:27.And of course the Thames barrier is so busy at the moment.
:18:28. > :18:32.It is amazing. I was there on Tuesday. It was a busy morning. They
:18:33. > :18:37.had just opened the flood defences. They were preparing to close them
:18:38. > :18:40.later on in the day. Very busy times.
:18:41. > :18:44.Thank you. We have senior impact the storms have had on people's lives
:18:45. > :18:52.and these images show the impact they have had on the landscape. This
:18:53. > :18:57.rock in Dorset was shown in December but now it has been washed away.
:18:58. > :19:01.This picture in Cornwall shows a jetty with a tower clearly visible
:19:02. > :19:06.at the end. And here it is last week, the tower swept away by the
:19:07. > :19:09.sea. And this is the famous promenade in Aberystwyth, but after
:19:10. > :19:13.the battering it has taken from giant waves, much of it has been
:19:14. > :19:20.reduced to rubble. Jeremy Cooke has been looking at the clear up.
:19:21. > :19:26.It was the perfect storm. A devastating combination of high
:19:27. > :19:34.water, high winds and giant waves. On a scale not seen here for
:19:35. > :19:38.decades. And in the firing line, Aberystwyth's historic, iconic
:19:39. > :19:44.promenade. In the face of all of this, see defences crumbled. The
:19:45. > :19:49.road was ripped apart, leaving thousands of tonnes of beach gravel
:19:50. > :19:53.on what should have been dry land. It is hard to imagine today, the
:19:54. > :19:57.sheer power of all the elements that were at work here. First, there was
:19:58. > :20:01.a tidal surge which brought water levels a good two metres above where
:20:02. > :20:05.they would normally be. And then there were the winds, coming in from
:20:06. > :20:10.the south-west, at 60 miles an hour or more. And that the perfect angle
:20:11. > :20:15.to cause maximum damage to the promenade. The seafront at
:20:16. > :20:21.Aberystwyth has had a char menders buffeting and suffered thousands of
:20:22. > :20:27.pounds of damage... It has been a long time but it happened before, in
:20:28. > :20:31.1938. A massive clean-up job then with wheelbarrows, shovels and
:20:32. > :20:35.sweat. No flat caps today in this age of heavy machinery and high
:20:36. > :20:41.visibility, but still a huge task just to clear the debris. Rebuilding
:20:42. > :20:49.will take months and potentially cost millions. The economy needs the
:20:50. > :20:55.funding to get back contract. So whether it comes from Westminster,
:20:56. > :20:59.the Welsh Government, Brussels? We do not mind, we will take it from
:21:00. > :21:04.anywhere but there is no question that it is needed. Of course, it
:21:05. > :21:09.could have been much worse. No lives were lost but it was close. Make no
:21:10. > :21:19.mistake, the storm here had potentially deadly force. And so
:21:20. > :21:25.today, the people of Aberystwyth can concentrate on repairing their
:21:26. > :21:31.famous, iconic promenade. It is regarded as the jewel in the crown.
:21:32. > :21:39.Peter Henley from the Civic Society is determined to stay positive. We
:21:40. > :21:43.will -- we have had problems in the past and we have overcome them and
:21:44. > :21:48.I'm sure would help we will get back on our feet. All of this will be
:21:49. > :21:53.remembered here for generations. While the talk of funding and
:21:54. > :21:57.budgets goes on, tomorrow morning, the people of Aberystwyth are being
:21:58. > :22:03.asked to bring their shovels to the seafront, a United, community
:22:04. > :22:06.response to the storm of 2014. So local people are being asked to
:22:07. > :22:11.take wheelbarrows and shovels down there. As communities work to get
:22:12. > :22:15.back on their feet, we have been trying to find out how much the
:22:16. > :22:23.storms could end up costing Britain. A lot, probably. Insurance companies
:22:24. > :22:29.are counting the claims. An early estimate is that it will cost them
:22:30. > :22:35.?400 million. That is less than the big floods of 2007 but it is still a
:22:36. > :22:40.substantial sum. It includes paying for the 2000 houses which have been
:22:41. > :22:43.flooded out, for drying them, for the repairs, for replacing the
:22:44. > :22:47.contents and putting people up when they can not stay in the house, and
:22:48. > :22:55.the average cost for doing that is ?40,000 per home. In some cases, it
:22:56. > :22:59.will go over ?100,000. Quite a lot of people do not have full insurance
:23:00. > :23:04.so they will lose out. Even if you are fully covered, some people will
:23:05. > :23:06.find the contents of their freezer is not covered or their
:23:07. > :23:10.outbuildings, for instance, and there is the worry for many families
:23:11. > :23:18.that once this colossal claim goes through, the monthly cost of their
:23:19. > :23:23.insurance will go up. We have also seen huge swathes of farmland. That
:23:24. > :23:34.will cost tens of millions to sort out. That will be for buildings,
:23:35. > :23:38.vehicles and livestock. But not the crops in the ground because they are
:23:39. > :23:43.not covered so that is a worry for farmers. The other big cost is four
:23:44. > :23:50.councils. Councils tell me that the eventual cost will be more than ?100
:23:51. > :23:54.million. Emergency help for people, removing trees, repairing roads.
:23:55. > :23:59.Cornwall says ?2 million already, Surrey says ?5 million for the
:24:00. > :24:03.roads. One thing worth mentioning as well, those people in Yalding who
:24:04. > :24:07.had their electricity cut off over Christmas and right across the South
:24:08. > :24:12.of England, tens of thousands of those will get compensation of up to
:24:13. > :24:19.?430 per household, depending how long they were cut off. Thank you.
:24:20. > :24:23.Let's go back to Somerset and the village of Muchelney which is still
:24:24. > :24:27.cut off from the floodwaters after a week.
:24:28. > :24:31.Jon Kay is there. The sun might be shining in the
:24:32. > :24:35.painted ceiling in the village church but they have not seen much
:24:36. > :24:39.sun here. The church has become a community centre over the last few
:24:40. > :24:44.weeks. So many have been flooded out. There are some groceries which
:24:45. > :24:48.have been brought in from a supermarket by a boat. Haute which
:24:49. > :24:53.can be collected as well. We have gathered some of the residents
:24:54. > :24:56.together tonight. Some of them are living in farmhouses together. We
:24:57. > :25:02.can sort to Mr Daniels to start with. -- we can talk to Mr Daniels.
:25:03. > :25:08.This part of the world is often flooded but how does it compare this
:25:09. > :25:15.time? This is the worst we have seen it for donkeys years, really. And we
:25:16. > :25:19.just cannot get out. We are frustrated, I suppose. If you had to
:25:20. > :25:24.leave the village you would have to go by boat? How do you fancy that? I
:25:25. > :25:32.cannot walk very far so it would not help but it would help other
:25:33. > :25:40.villagers. Does it worry you? Do you feel trapped? Not really but it is
:25:41. > :25:45.not very nice, put it that way! Thank you. A lot of people would say
:25:46. > :25:51.this part of the world is traditionally flooded. When we first
:25:52. > :25:57.moved here 50 years ago it flooded. And gradually over the years it
:25:58. > :26:00.began to get a little worse. We were not bothered until they stopped
:26:01. > :26:07.doing the regular dredging and then made a difference. Last year we were
:26:08. > :26:12.cut off from October 21, not completely around until mid-February
:26:13. > :26:15.but on and off, the rains lasted and the floods lasted and people could
:26:16. > :26:21.not get to work. It is people who have businesses. Let's turn to
:26:22. > :26:28.Paul. Your business is flooded out. What does it mean to you? We are new
:26:29. > :26:32.business. We have been open for two years. It is a flood area, we accept
:26:33. > :26:39.that, but not to this level. We have flooded twice in two years. A big
:26:40. > :26:44.reception of plan, not good at all. What do you think would make a
:26:45. > :26:50.difference? Or is this just nature? There is no maintenance of the
:26:51. > :26:54.waterways. That is not happening. If the capacity cannot hold the water
:26:55. > :27:00.then it will flood. So you want more dredging. Let's turn to rod in the
:27:01. > :27:03.middle. Your house is flooded. For families, explain to people sitting
:27:04. > :27:12.in their dry living rooms tonight, what is life like now? It is
:27:13. > :27:17.inconvenient. All your things are upstairs, you cannot get to
:27:18. > :27:22.anything. It is as if you have gone on a two-week holiday because that
:27:23. > :27:26.is all you can take with you. You cannot get in and out unless good
:27:27. > :27:31.people like Mike here take you on their tractor so it makes life very
:27:32. > :27:35.difficult. I cannot believe how you are all still smiling. You have been
:27:36. > :27:39.so hospitable to us. At the moment they think the river levels might
:27:40. > :27:44.drop and they might get out by this time next week. But if there is more
:27:45. > :27:50.rain in the meantime, this could go on for longer. It went on for longer
:27:51. > :27:55.last year. Back to you, safely. Thank you all very much. The extreme
:27:56. > :28:01.weather has affected almost every part of the UK and it is not over
:28:02. > :28:05.yet. Floodwaters continued to rise. You can keep up-to-date with BBC
:28:06. > :28:09.News. That is it from us. We will leave you with some of the
:28:10. > :28:19.extraordinary images of the storms which have been battering Britain.
:28:20. > :28:25.Severe gale nine, occasionally 10... There are a number of flood warnings
:28:26. > :28:32.in place... A wild day out there with a risk of coastal flooding.
:28:33. > :28:36.Soul destroying, that is what it is. I have lived here all my life and I
:28:37. > :28:43.have never seen anything like this before. You panic. Everybody panics.
:28:44. > :28:44.You cannot stop the water. Once it is flowing, you cannot stop it.
:28:45. > :28:53.Hello, I'm Riz Lateef with your 90 second update.
:28:54. > :28:57.An apology over the Downing Street Plebgate row. The Met Police
:28:58. > :28:58.Commissioner has said