:00:12. > :00:15.Good evening. After weeks of feeling ignored, people in the flooded
:00:16. > :00:19.Somerset Levels found themselves at the centre of a political and
:00:20. > :00:23.military operation today. Just hours after the Prime Minister took charge
:00:24. > :00:38.of the situation, the Army were sent in to assess the situation. Clinton
:00:39. > :00:41.Rogers reports. It has been a day when the military came, took a
:00:42. > :00:46.look, went away, had a meeting and decided they were not needed, for
:00:47. > :00:53.now anyway. People who live in the village of Muchelney said that they
:00:54. > :00:56.should have pressed the panic button 34 weeks ago when they really needed
:00:57. > :01:01.them. Scott Ellis has been following some strange development throughout
:01:02. > :01:06.the day. They are not hearing for spot are taking a closer look at the
:01:07. > :01:12.floods around Muchelney. Two oil engineer is attached to the Royal
:01:13. > :01:19.Marines asking Somerset County Council if flood victims need more
:01:20. > :01:23.help. I have seen it on the news and they have seen it on TV. After
:01:24. > :01:27.driving round today, you do not get an understanding of how big a task
:01:28. > :01:32.it is until you come down to see it yourself. There are 100 commandos
:01:33. > :01:45.based in Taunton on stand`by ready to help. But all this was declared a
:01:46. > :01:49.major incident zone almost a week ago. Residents are wondering why all
:01:50. > :01:52.the fuss now. We are actually managing quite well now. It has just
:01:53. > :01:56.gone on too long. But he wouldn t say no to the military helping? No.
:01:57. > :02:00.More rain and high tides are on the way. And more high`volume pumps `
:02:01. > :02:03.ten of them. The fire service are also bringing in two hovercraft `
:02:04. > :02:06.and more 4X4s. Officials saying the military, as yet, aren't needed
:02:07. > :02:10.What the military can bring is a quick response with additional
:02:11. > :02:13.resources, should we require them. At this stage we are comfortable
:02:14. > :02:18.that the civil contingencies we have in place are enough. While everyone
:02:19. > :02:26.gears up for another wet weekend, the area's drainage board published
:02:27. > :02:29.a new report. It maps out what action they think needs to be taken
:02:30. > :02:33.to improve drainage on the Somerset Levels in future years. Top of the
:02:34. > :02:36.list ` dredging the rivers Parrett and Tone. But also measures to slow
:02:37. > :02:40.and reduce water run`off further up. There is a need for a sluice gate
:02:41. > :02:43.below Bridgwater to hold back the tides. Finally, they admit, the most
:02:44. > :02:54.vulnerable households will have to relocate. At the end of the day
:02:55. > :02:58.then, maybe people who need help to become more resilient, or to adapt,
:02:59. > :03:02.or as a very last result, be helped should away. The scale of dredging
:03:03. > :03:07.will be enormous. 200,000 tonnes of earth and silt will have to be
:03:08. > :03:18.moved. The cost estimated at ?4 million. All eyes are on the weather
:03:19. > :03:21.because we are told that up to 0 millimetres of rain could be on the
:03:22. > :03:26.way. Whilst water levels in Muchelney are beginning to recede,
:03:27. > :03:29.that amount of rain is bound to bring the water levels right up
:03:30. > :03:36.again. People here are hoping for the best but fearing the worst.
:03:37. > :03:39.That's our Somerset correspondent, Clinton Rogers. This week the
:03:40. > :03:41.flooding issue has proved to be something of a roller`coaster for
:03:42. > :03:44.the Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson. I'm joined by our
:03:45. > :03:48.Political Editor, Paul Barltrop What is the latest from the
:03:49. > :03:51.Government on this? They are anxious to show that they are getting to
:03:52. > :03:55.grips with the problem but the difficulty is knowing exactly what
:03:56. > :03:57.to do. Yesterday the Environment Secretary ordered in the military
:03:58. > :04:04.and today we headed that they are not exact `` they are not needed. So
:04:05. > :04:08.this evening, an admission from the Minister that the guidelines that
:04:09. > :04:16.the Government has for how the money is spent may need to change. The
:04:17. > :04:21.Environment Agency has performed extraordinarily well protecting 1.1
:04:22. > :04:26.million people but the parameters that are set nationally on where
:04:27. > :04:33.they put the long`term efforts do not apply to the very specialist to
:04:34. > :04:38.reign of the Somerset Levels. `` terrain. It is not the first time
:04:39. > :04:45.that the Government has changed tack. Yes, he came up with a plan
:04:46. > :04:50.within six weeks that was eclipsed romantically at Prime Minister s
:04:51. > :04:54.questions when David Cameron said they should dredge as soon as the
:04:55. > :04:57.floodwaters went down, and that seemed to overrule his very own
:04:58. > :05:02.Environment Secretary. I think it was a slap down. He has completely
:05:03. > :05:06.changed the approach of the Government to what is going on down
:05:07. > :05:12.there. All of a sudden we have seen urgency and intervention that could
:05:13. > :05:19.have happened weeks ago but didn't. So, can they solve the problem of
:05:20. > :05:24.the Somerset Levels? People will tell you that the Somerset Levels
:05:25. > :05:26.are often flooded in the past. They had two consecutive winters when
:05:27. > :05:35.they flooded 20 years ago. Politicians argued over it but back
:05:36. > :05:43.then, both rivers, Tone and Parrett where being dredged and it did not
:05:44. > :05:50.stop the flooding. Plans to bring dangerous nuclear waste to the West
:05:51. > :05:52.are being discussed. At the moment, waste produced at nuclear power
:05:53. > :05:55.stations here is routinely transported to Sellafield, to be
:05:56. > :05:58.processed and stored. But current proposals could see it just being
:05:59. > :06:00.moved locally from South Gloucestershire to Hinkley in
:06:01. > :06:06.Somerset. Anti`nuclear protesters are objecting to the plans. The
:06:07. > :06:10.former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown and his wife have survived a
:06:11. > :06:13.car accident in which a 49`year`old man died. Lord Ashdown's wife was
:06:14. > :06:16.driving on a country road near their home when they were involved in a
:06:17. > :06:18.collision with two other vehicles. The couple are reported to be very
:06:19. > :06:23.upset and have Now to the weather, and Ian
:06:24. > :06:29.Fergusson has our evening forecast. Good evening, we have another amber
:06:30. > :06:34.weather warning for the Somerset Levels for tomorrow that will carry
:06:35. > :06:36.through to Saturday. Tomorrow we could see pretty much an inch of
:06:37. > :06:47.rain. That will be decidedly unhelpful. Tomorrow morning will be
:06:48. > :06:50.a cold one. This area of persistent rain will last for six or seven
:06:51. > :06:54.hours through the course of the morning and be windy as well toss up
:06:55. > :06:57.temperatures dropping widely to freezing tonight, maybe a couple of
:06:58. > :07:02.degrees below in some spots. Tomorrow morning, some hints of
:07:03. > :07:06.brightness once the early mist clears but it will not be long
:07:07. > :07:09.before the rain crosses the M5, the coming heavy as we come through the
:07:10. > :07:14.cause of the afternoon, and it will be take King awhile before it
:07:15. > :07:21.clears. And some heavy showers following on behind. Temperatures
:07:22. > :07:26.tomorrow around eight Celsius. That's all from us. We are back
:07:27. > :07:37.tomorrow from 6:30am on BBC Breakfast. From all of us here, good
:07:38. > :07:42.very good night. Good evening. As we have seen, it
:07:43. > :07:48.has been an exceptionally wet month and it is not even over yet. The
:07:49. > :07:53.final day of January promises even more heavy rain and that is not the
:07:54. > :07:59.only hazard. There could be some snow and strong winds over the next
:08:00. > :08:05.48 hours. We have seen too many of these weather systems steaming in
:08:06. > :08:07.from the Atlantic. It is not with this yet, however. Some