The Environment Agency now has 21 severe flood warnings - the highest category indicating a danger to life and property – in place in England and Wales as coastal communities face strong winds combined with high tides and large waves.

Fourteen of these are in the South West and 4 in Wales, with a further 193 Flood Warnings where flooding is expected and immediate action required and 228 Flood Alerts where flooding is possible.

The flood risk, which now extends along the UK coastline from north west England, through Wales and south west and southern England, has risen as huge Atlantic storms make landfall later today.

Areas at particular risk include the Isles of Scilly, the north and south coasts of Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, the tidal reaches of the River Severn, and the coastline of Wales and Cumbria.

Environment Agency teams are continuing to work around the clock to check flood defences and close tidal gates. The Thames Barrier was closed yesterday to protect people and property along the Thames.

Natural Resources Wales, the organisation which leads on flooding in Wales, has also issued warnings to communities along the coastline of Wales.

Communities are also facing the continued risk of river and surface water flooding. Recent heavy rain, saturated ground and high river levels mean that there is a also continued risk of river and surface water flooding across the country as unsettled conditions are forecast to continue.

Pete Fox, head of strategy at the Environment Agency, said:

'We are expecting flooding along the west and south coasts of England and Wales, due to a combination of strong winds, large waves and high tides, from the early hours of Friday and into the weekend.'

'Coastal paths and promenades could be highly dangerous as there is an increased risk of being swept out to sea. People are warned to stay away from the shoreline.'

In Scotland the Met Office has warned of the potential for severe gale force winds and a tidal surge around lunchtime today, particularly around the Firth of Clyde, Solway Firth and Ayrshire. Areas affected by recent flooding include Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Scottish Borders and Tayside

The Scottish Government is asking the public to remain vigilant in the face of the high risk of flooding later today.

The Government’s emergency crisis COBRA Committee has been meeting on a regular basis to consider the impacts of extreme weather and tidal conditions for England and Wales, while in Scotland the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) has held ten meetings since Christmas Eve.

The Government is increasingly in the spotlight over proposed cuts at the Environment Agency which will see staffing levels reduced by 15% - around 1800 staff – in an effort to reduce costs. An article in the Daily Telegraph newspaper today says:

“Officials working on flood risk management will be sacked as Environment Agency sheds about 15 per cent of its workforce to save money, potentially placing ability to cope with floods at risk.”

“More than 1,500 jobs will be cut by October, leading to fears that the agency will not be able to cope with serious flooding next year. The agency’s chief executive has said that the downsizing will have an impact on its flood work.”

Defra’s Secretary of State Owen Paterson chaired an emergency COBR meeting yesterday to prepare ahead of this week’s predicted storms.

Speaking after the COBR meeting, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said:

“With a number of flood warnings in place today and more rain and high winds forecast for tomorrow, I have today chaired a COBR meeting to make sure that across central government departments we are ensuring that local councils, utilities and transport companies are as prepared and ready to respond as possible."

The COBRA meetings currently taking place are to ensure a sufficient level of preparedness for the current situation and make sure that everything that can be done is being done. However, while the wide-ranging general discussion is all –encompassing and could in theory address funding issues, it is not clear whether this has been specifically addressed. 

The Government's position is that it is now spending more money on flooding than ever before. With more flooding than ever before in the UK which only looks set to increase in the face of further climate change impacts, the question of whether expenditure on flood infrastructure should be protected looks set to be the topic of increasing public debate.