:00:00. > :00:07.Britain's flood defences need a 'complete rethink' according
:00:08. > :00:14.There are still nine severe flood warnings in force across northern
:00:15. > :00:17.England including six in the York area.
:00:18. > :00:21.David Cameron was visiting York today where hundreds of people have
:00:22. > :00:25.been forced to leave their homes and said extra measures
:00:26. > :00:34.After any of these events we should look at what we are planning
:00:35. > :00:37.to build, what we are planning to spend and think, do we need
:00:38. > :00:44.In Essex an 81-year-old woman is shot dead by a relative at a care
:00:45. > :00:46.home; a murder inquiry has been launched.
:00:47. > :00:50.And in Durban, England's cricketers are in a commanding position
:00:51. > :01:02.after the third day of the first Test against South Africa.
:01:03. > :01:10.Britain's flood defences need a 'complete rethink'
:01:11. > :01:13.following the widespread flooding in parts of northern England
:01:14. > :01:19.The call was made as the prime minister visited the city of York
:01:20. > :01:22.where hundreds of people have been forced out of their homes
:01:23. > :01:26.Mr Cameron said the government would look carefully at suggestions
:01:27. > :01:31.There are nearly 50 flood warnings in force across northern England
:01:32. > :01:35.and another nine severe flood warnings, some of them in York,
:01:36. > :01:49.where we can join our correspondent Judith Moritz for the latest.
:01:50. > :01:55.The water level is down but there is still plenty of it on the ground in
:01:56. > :01:59.these areas. It's made for a difficult day here in York, rescue
:02:00. > :02:03.teams from as far afield as Norfolk and Cornwall have been working flat
:02:04. > :02:06.out and the communications are nearly impossible. Phone lines have
:02:07. > :02:10.been down, mobile signals lost. There have been queues at the banks
:02:11. > :02:15.for cash because the shops that are open haven't been able to process
:02:16. > :02:18.card payments. It feels like normal life still has a long way to go
:02:19. > :02:24.before it can resume here. It's only from the sky that you can
:02:25. > :02:33.appreciate the expense of ground covered by these floods and it's
:02:34. > :02:36.from the air that help finally An RAF helicopter was flown
:02:37. > :02:41.in to bring machinery and help The only way to bring this equipment
:02:42. > :02:47.in use by the air because all along this stretch of the
:02:48. > :02:50.River Foss, the roads The River Foss flood barrier failed
:02:51. > :02:56.here on Boxing Day after water got The Environment Agency said it
:02:57. > :03:00.chose to leave the gate open, as keeping it closed
:03:01. > :03:03.would have caused even more The airlift brought in new equipment
:03:04. > :03:08.to get the fence is working again, with the aim of pumping
:03:09. > :03:12.water away from the river Foss, which hasn't flooded
:03:13. > :03:14.here since the 1980s. With such widespread flooding has
:03:15. > :03:18.come a massive emergency response involving soldiers
:03:19. > :03:21.and rescue teams from Meeting some of them,
:03:22. > :03:25.the Prime Minister defended his government spending
:03:26. > :03:29.on flood protection. Here in Yorkshire for instance
:03:30. > :03:34.we have spent ?100 million on flood defences since I became
:03:35. > :03:39.Prime Minister and we are planning But that is of no
:03:40. > :03:44.comfort to the people To be flooded is a terrible
:03:45. > :03:50.experience and even more terrible when it happens at
:03:51. > :03:53.Christmas, or New Year. As David Cameron spoke to one team
:03:54. > :03:56.in the city centre he was heckled It wasn't clear she was
:03:57. > :04:05.attacking government policy in general, I lack of investment
:04:06. > :04:10.in defending York against flooding. Meanwhile, out in the city centre,
:04:11. > :04:16.the rescue continues. Wheels are no use along
:04:17. > :04:21.here and travelling by boat is the only way for teams like this
:04:22. > :04:24.one from the West Midlands We've been deployed three times
:04:25. > :04:28.in the last 12 hours, for medical emergencies,
:04:29. > :04:31.assisting and ambulance crews to get people from the addresses
:04:32. > :04:33.that are not All day, those stranded at home have
:04:34. > :04:39.been ferried to safety, The job, to get absolutely
:04:40. > :04:57.everybody to dry land. Judith, you mentioned the fact that
:04:58. > :05:00.the people's worst fears about the water levels weren't reached today
:05:01. > :05:06.thankfully, but what about the days ahead? That is right. At its height,
:05:07. > :05:10.the water reached 5.2 metres, the critical level everyone was worried
:05:11. > :05:14.about was 5.4, the height of the flood defences that line the River
:05:15. > :05:18.Ouse. It didn't overtop, that is great news. It's starting now to go
:05:19. > :05:22.down and the Environment Agency say that by tomorrow lunch time it will
:05:23. > :05:27.have reduced by half a metre on what it was at its peak. As it goes down,
:05:28. > :05:30.they are able to go along and check the flood defences, but more bad
:05:31. > :05:35.weather is forecast on Wednesday. They say they are prepared for that.
:05:36. > :05:39.They have already deployed 10,000 sandbags. They say they have another
:05:40. > :05:44.6,000 to use if necessary. They are keeping staff on site here to keep
:05:45. > :05:48.things ready and checked upon. The Foss barrier you saw in that report,
:05:49. > :05:52.work continues upon that. They tell me here that if they get another
:05:53. > :05:56.deluge midweek, they are prepared, they don't think they'll see the
:05:57. > :06:01.sort of devastation we have seen earlier this week.
:06:02. > :06:05.Some 14 miles south of York, the town of Selby is also threatened
:06:06. > :06:11.About 200 soldiers have been working in the area trying to improve
:06:12. > :06:17.The River Ouse is expected to peak later this evening.
:06:18. > :06:24.For the latest, we can join our correspondent Dan Johnson.
:06:25. > :06:30.People here held their breath around high tide this morning waiting to
:06:31. > :06:33.see what the rising water levels would do, but once again, this town
:06:34. > :06:37.and villages across the lower part of the River Ouse were spared. But
:06:38. > :06:42.that doesn't mean they haven't been affected. This town is besieged by
:06:43. > :06:50.water. Selby is surrounded and it's had an effect on all sorts of people
:06:51. > :06:55.in many different ways. What does a farmer do without land? Chris's
:06:56. > :06:59.family have been here 80 years and seen a few floods. The boat has
:07:00. > :07:04.replaced the track for before. It's bad this time, a bit worse than
:07:05. > :07:07.2012, but it's looking like it's receding quite well now, so
:07:08. > :07:10.hopefully the next few days the river will stop running over and
:07:11. > :07:16.we'll start getting rid of the floodwater.
:07:17. > :07:19.In the meantime, five feet beneath the surface, the wheat fields Chris
:07:20. > :07:24.relies on are doing an important job.
:07:25. > :07:27.Up there is the river overflowing the banking, that is the flood
:07:28. > :07:31.defence, meaning all the water is filling up these fields. It looks
:07:32. > :07:35.dramatic, but this is what is supposed to happen, it's a food
:07:36. > :07:39.plain in action. That means the town, Selby, stays
:07:40. > :07:44.dry, even when the river is at peak level. But those who live closest to
:07:45. > :07:49.it are still left feeling vulnerable, hoping more water
:07:50. > :07:52.doesn't pour through the defences. I've been here over seven years but
:07:53. > :07:57.never seen anything like this before. Karen's home is a downstairs
:07:58. > :08:03.river front flat. If the water comes in, she's got nowhere else to go. I
:08:04. > :08:08.would like some help down here. I think we all come together as we are
:08:09. > :08:12.as a neighbourhood and hopefully have something rezovled and hope it
:08:13. > :08:17.doesn't get any higher. What sort of help do you think you need? I would
:08:18. > :08:20.say the army probably need to come down and actually get some
:08:21. > :08:24.sandbagging. Even escaping all this has been
:08:25. > :08:30.difficult. There's disruption to traffic and trains because the main
:08:31. > :08:34.bridges are closed. And, back on the farm, it will be a few weeks before
:08:35. > :08:38.it's even possible to work out if Chris's crop can be salvaged. We are
:08:39. > :08:43.getting a bit used to it these last few years, so it's becoming a sight
:08:44. > :08:47.that we are seeing quite regular. Is this just something you accept as
:08:48. > :08:51.part of this... We can't do anything else but accept it, can we? You
:08:52. > :08:56.know, this water's got to go somewhere. It's not expected to go
:08:57. > :09:02.much further even though the river will peak again tonight. They may be
:09:03. > :09:06.through the worst of it, but few here will rest easy fearing more
:09:07. > :09:10.water could be heading their way. So they wait for high tide again at
:09:11. > :09:14.11 o'clock this evening and what will that bring? Plenty of people
:09:15. > :09:17.coming down the river to have a look and see what the river levels are
:09:18. > :09:22.doing. It will be a difficult time. There is a lot of sympathy from
:09:23. > :09:25.people with the folk in York upstream who have been flooded but
:09:26. > :09:29.people here are getting weary of the anxiety of not knowing what the
:09:30. > :09:30.river will bring next. They want an end to all this now. Thank you very
:09:31. > :09:33.much indeed. As we heard, the Environment Agency
:09:34. > :09:36.has called for a 'complete rethink' of Britain's flood defences along
:09:37. > :09:40.with extra measures including better waterproofing of homes and improved
:09:41. > :09:44.warning systems as experts warn extreme weather is likely
:09:45. > :09:48.to become even more familiar The Government says it will spend
:09:49. > :09:53.?2.3 billion on flood Our science editor
:09:54. > :10:01.David Shukman reports. The astonishing sight of a torrent,
:10:02. > :10:05.thundering down a hillside A glimpse of the huge volumes
:10:06. > :10:11.of water causing such The emergency response
:10:12. > :10:22.is now well drilled. The sight of rescue teams,
:10:23. > :10:24.all too familiar but these scenes raise questions about why
:10:25. > :10:27.the defences were overwhelmed Always after major
:10:28. > :10:38.incidents like this we look at what happened, what we can take
:10:39. > :10:42.and what we need to do differently and this will be no different
:10:43. > :10:44.to any other incident we've But many of the challenges
:10:45. > :10:48.are nothing new. In 2007, serious flooding
:10:49. > :10:51.in the north and west of England left 300,000 people without running
:10:52. > :10:54.water and there was a very detailed study back then
:10:55. > :10:57.into what went wrong. That review into the country's flood
:10:58. > :11:00.defences called for a long list of improvements but have
:11:01. > :11:03.lessons been learned? The study called for better
:11:04. > :11:08.coordination between the emergency services, and far better equipment
:11:09. > :11:10.like the inflatable boats we've been seeing and that's
:11:11. > :11:14.definitely happened. But it also wanted key
:11:15. > :11:16.infrastructure far better protected, And it said that sandbags should no
:11:17. > :11:24.longer be relied on, that New technology,
:11:25. > :11:26.plastic and metal, should But even now, sandbags
:11:27. > :11:31.are still proving vital. And this comes as many people claim
:11:32. > :11:35.that the areas hit hardest in northern England
:11:36. > :11:38.are being let down. There is a real discrepancy,
:11:39. > :11:43.people are starting to get very angry across the North at levels
:11:44. > :11:46.of funding going to the north compared to other
:11:47. > :11:51.parts of the country. I think that all council leaders
:11:52. > :11:54.will be coming together and working to lobby the government
:11:55. > :11:56.and say enough is enough. The government denies this,
:11:57. > :11:59.pointing to this map of flood It says that a ?2.3 billion budget
:12:00. > :12:06.is being spent fairly. As the floodwaters linger
:12:07. > :12:09.and as the calm conditions make way for another storm tomorrow night,
:12:10. > :12:12.the arguments will intensify over how much to spend on flood
:12:13. > :12:29.defence, and where. Police in Essex say
:12:30. > :12:31.an 81-year-old woman has been shot dead by a relative at
:12:32. > :12:34.a care home in Walton-on-the-Naze. A murder inquiry has been
:12:35. > :12:37.launched and a man has been Essex police have this
:12:38. > :12:53.evening named the victim Zblued Delamere is the home where
:12:54. > :12:56.reports came through that a woman had been seriously injured. Officers
:12:57. > :13:01.and ambulance crews arrived but the woman, thought to be in her '80s had
:13:02. > :13:07.died, apparently having been shot by a man who was also a resident at the
:13:08. > :13:12.home. A very unusual investigation. Both parties involved are residents
:13:13. > :13:15.of the care home. The next of kin have been informed, so if there are
:13:16. > :13:19.any other families out there, don't worry, we have told the people that
:13:20. > :13:22.need to know and the investigation is ongoing around forensic recovery
:13:23. > :13:27.and inquiries. Police say a weapon's been recovered and that a man in his
:13:28. > :13:30.mid 80s has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Detectives say
:13:31. > :13:34.he and the woman who died were known to each other. The manager of the
:13:35. > :13:39.home described how she managed to get hold of the weapon after the
:13:40. > :13:43.alleged attack. First of all, I thought it wasn't real, I thought it
:13:44. > :13:47.was a toy gun. As I got nearer, I could see it was a real gun. I was
:13:48. > :13:51.aware I'd got two other staff behind me and there were other residents
:13:52. > :13:55.nearby. All I remember thinking was somehow I've got to get that gun.
:13:56. > :13:59.Officers have been speaking to members of staff to see who they
:14:00. > :14:03.witnessed, they have also been helping the staff to reassure
:14:04. > :14:07.residents. Tonight, the police inquiries continue, but officers say
:14:08. > :14:08.they are not looking for anyone else in connection with their
:14:09. > :14:12.investigation. Some of the day's other news;
:14:13. > :14:14.hundreds of prisoners, including some in custody
:14:15. > :14:17.for murder, have been mistakenly released from jails
:14:18. > :14:19.in England and Wales. Figures from the Ministry of Justice
:14:20. > :14:22.released under the Freedom of Information act show more
:14:23. > :14:24.than 500 prisoners were let out The Prison Service says the mistakes
:14:25. > :14:30.are ''very rare' and the vast majority of prisoners
:14:31. > :14:35.are returned to custody. The Iraqi military says it is now
:14:36. > :14:38.in full control of the city of Ramadi which has been held
:14:39. > :14:41.by Islamic State fighters since May. Iraqi government forces,
:14:42. > :14:44.backed by coalition air strikes, have been trying to retake
:14:45. > :14:57.the city since November. At least 43 people have died
:14:58. > :14:59.over the past few days as a result of severe storms
:15:00. > :15:02.across southern and western parts Flash floods, tornadoes and snow
:15:03. > :15:05.have destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses
:15:06. > :15:07.and disrupted transport. The governors of Missouri, Oklahoma,
:15:08. > :15:09.and New Mexico have declared Our correspondent Laura
:15:10. > :15:21.Bicker has the latest. It took just minutes for roads to
:15:22. > :15:25.become rivers in parts of the South and midwest. This man is lucky, the
:15:26. > :15:32.tree stopped his car from being swept away. Help was also nearby. In
:15:33. > :15:38.midyear read and Illinois, at least 11 people have died in flash floods
:15:39. > :15:41.including four international soldiers. Most were killed when
:15:42. > :15:48.their cars were washed away in high waters. It is certainly sad that we
:15:49. > :15:53.lost people. So close to home in such a small community, it makes us
:15:54. > :15:57.sick to our stomachs. As the rivers rise, people have been warned not to
:15:58. > :16:00.travel. We are known for getting three inches a year and we got one
:16:01. > :16:07.quarter of that this weekend. Crazy year. A state of emergency has been
:16:08. > :16:11.declared. This is one of the earliest we have seen a flood on the
:16:12. > :16:17.Mississippi River, this high, probably for this time of year. In
:16:18. > :16:23.Texas, this is the devastation caused by one of the most powerful
:16:24. > :16:30.tornadoes to hit the state. Twisters with wins over 200 mph swept through
:16:31. > :16:33.the town of Garland. Thousands of homes have been destroyed and 11
:16:34. > :16:39.people were killed and there are warnings that the death toll may
:16:40. > :16:44.rise. Some are trying to pick up the pieces. They are spending their
:16:45. > :16:49.Christmas break trying to clear up. But there is a new threat. Snow.
:16:50. > :16:54.Temperatures have dropped in Texas. Blizzard conditions have closed
:16:55. > :16:58.roads and cancelled flights. This may be more seasonable weather, but
:16:59. > :17:00.across southern and Midwestern states they are hoping this is the
:17:01. > :17:06.last in a week of deadly storms. Cricket, and in Durban,
:17:07. > :17:08.England are in a commanding position after the third day of the first
:17:09. > :17:12.Test against South Africa. Stuart Broad is now a bowler of such
:17:13. > :17:20.stature that it seems his reputation is enough to break
:17:21. > :17:22.a batsman's concentration. Second ball he was
:17:23. > :17:24.still getting loose. England would need more than that,
:17:25. > :17:28.Moeen Ali providing the intricacy. JP Duminy and then Kyle Abbott,
:17:29. > :17:30.foxed by spin, leaving Dean Elgar conducting the South African
:17:31. > :17:35.innings almost solo. His century of resistance
:17:36. > :17:37.was a rousing response, but there was no
:17:38. > :17:39.lasting accompaniment. England finished the morning's
:17:40. > :17:42.work with the new ball. Six wickets taken,
:17:43. > :17:46.a lead of 89 runs. South African chances now
:17:47. > :17:48.depended on their bowlers. The strain was too
:17:49. > :17:50.much for Dale Steyn. Injury stopped him
:17:51. > :17:54.shouldering the attack. Alex Hales took a look and decided
:17:55. > :18:03.to put him in his place but unfortunately that was to
:18:04. > :18:06.the hands of the fielder. For a moment, South Africa had
:18:07. > :18:09.a faint grip on this match. Were these the moments
:18:10. > :18:11.it slipped away? Joe Root, pardoned
:18:12. > :18:16.by AB de Villiers. Using their second lives,
:18:17. > :18:21.they pushed England's lead up With his reputation, England's
:18:22. > :18:30.advantage could grow stronger. There's more throughout the evening
:18:31. > :18:33.on the BBC News Channel and we're back at 10.05 with the late
:18:34. > :18:36.news but now on BBC One, it's time
:18:37. > :18:37.for the news where you are.