Roundup: Flood defences face criticism as storms wreak havoc in northern England

Thousands of properties remain without power, and evacuation works are continuing on Monday after Storm Desmond wreaked havoc over the weekend in northern England.

According to Electricity North West, "19,000 customers in Lancaster are still being supplied by generators that were mobilised Sunday night. Further generators will be mobilised tonight and all generators will be refuelled when required."

It reported earlier that power supply to 42,000 customers in Lancaster, Morecambe and Carnforth, was lost at 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon because of flood damage.

"Unfortunately due to unforeseen flood damage at that site a significant fault has occurred. We are calling for extra generators and engineers from across the country to help us to restore power to our customers," it said.

A total of 2,657 properties in Cumbria, one of the worst-hit areas in north England, have still been left without power as floodwater is restricting access for repairing teams.

Flood defences at substations in two towns of Cumbria, Kendal and Carlisle, have held, protecting supplies to 110,000 homes, it added.

Earlier in the morning, Cumbria Police have confirmed that a body of a male have been found in River Kent, and the body has been recovered Monday afternoon. Police said they were called on Sunday morning to report an elderly man had fallen in the flooding water.

Police said that residents in two villages in the Lake District, Cumbria are without power and phone lines. But air ambulance service and satellite phones are available for emergency.

Police, mountain rescue staff and the military are evacuating vulnerable people and supplying extra food and water to those who require it. Several reception centers have opened in Cumbria to offer advise and shelter.

So far, more than 15 severe flood warnings are still in place in parts of north England, while 40 schools in Cumbria have been closed, which might reopen on Tuesday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the affected areas on Monday afternoon, meeting family and members of armed forces who helped with the relief efforts in Carlisle.

"It's an absolutely horrific thing to happen, and for many of these people it is not the first time that it has happened, which is why we built these great barriers here, which have prevented Carlisle from being flooded on two other occasions, but they weren't enough this time. Something like 14 inches of rain in 24 hours - it really was torrential," said the prime minister, beside the town's flood defences, which were built during the last parliament.

"But, obviously, the people who've got to move out of their homes - we need to get their insurance claims done quickly, find them alternative accommodation. The emergency services have been brilliant. But that is no consolation to people who face a very wet few days, and then perhaps not being home for Christmas," he added.

Cameron also said a revise is needed to the flood defences in this area.

Local media reported that about half a billion pounds will be spent for the clean-up operation, exceeding the 400-million-pound (about 600 million U.S. dollars) spent and 276-million-pound, following the floods in Cumbria in 2005 and 2009.

The government's 48-million-pound worth of flood defences installed after severe deluge in this region in 2005 and 2009 has come under criticism, local media said.

British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the government of failing to do enough to tackle flooding.

"Last year, the prime minister promised that 'money is no object' in dealing with flooding, itself a consequence of the destruction of our environment. But this has proved to be yet another false promise. In the last parliament, the government slashed spending on flood defences before the 2014 winter floods," said Corbyn.

Kerry McCarthy, the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, also highlighted a 115-million-pound fall in spending on risk management and flood defences this year by the government. (1 pound = 1.50 U.S. dollars) Endit