Following the extreme weather that large parts of the UK experienced at the end of June, many families were left with the task of cleaning up flood damaged homes and communities, whilst providers of public transport, particularly the railways, are beginning the huge task of getting their services back on track.
The widespread flooding experienced in the North East of England, combined with a prolonged power cut for thousands of households and travel disruption on the roads and railways, prompted Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman to pay a visit to the region.
She visited flood-damaged homes in Gateshead, only one of the areas in the region hit by the flooding, praising the response of the emergency services. With areas of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham, as well as other places around the country, also being badly affected, the emergency services had a massive task of trying to cope with the problems that were flooding in.
"I would really like to commiserate with the local community" Ms Spelman said. "I do know what it feels like to be flooded out of your home. And I want to praise the emergency services and local authority that swung into action with a pre-prepared plan."
After members of local communities came together to help each other out and in the aftermath of the flooding, Ms Spelman said, "That's what it takes in the face of one of these extreme weather events which we are seeing all too frequently."
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