Environment secretary admits lessons to learn over flooding

摘要

The secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs Elizabeth Truss has admitted the government will have lessons to learn from storm Desmond. Her statement came after criticism over multi-million pound flood defences - built following the floods in 2009 - failed to protect homes in Cumbria from the impact of the storm. Speaking in the House of Commons, Truss said the government will now "need to learn lessons and reflect on what we can learn from this extreme weather event" despite having spent £45m in new flood defences for Cumbria since 2009. A major incident was declared in the UK following a weekend that saw storm Desmond deposit approximately 340mm of rain in 24 hours on the Lake District, flood over 2,000 homes in Cumbria and cause a loss of power to 55,000 homes in Lancaster.