but what is clear this evening mattes is
that this is not over yet and I say that
in part because of the forecasts you
mentioned for torrential rain in some
places during the rest of this week and
you know the Environment Agency is
saying to us that by and large the
defenses have done their job that the
work has been effective about 25,000
homes that would have been a risk have
been protected but then there are also
places like Ridge North where we are
this evening where they don't have those
flood defences than people look at the
river it's incredibly full at the moment
and they wonder how it can take any more
water days after the storms but still
under water in bridgnorth life is
nowhere near back to normal and the
Riverside caravan park is more like in a
lake
[Music]
the water level is slowly starting to
drop the same can't be said for the
frustration of felt by many it's like
being on a ship prolene told me with
water all around her home you guys don't
have any defenses here do you no not at
all not any the cottages down there
they caught thicket the water's been so
high it's just gone straight through the
letterboxes straight through the windows
but I mean look at all of this and it's
not just now it's the clearing up it's
gonna take weeks to clean it all up in
other towns along the river seven flood
defences were bolstered in iron bridge
where dozens of homes were evacuated
yesterday it was a major emergency
operation ahead of last night's peak in
the water level and in bewdley we told
the flood defences did their job holding
up against an exceptional amount of
water in bridge north there aren't as
many flooded homes as in some places but
with only sandbags to keep the water out
many feel they've been left to fend for
themselves I know a lot of the locals
and worried that Bridgnorth
is being ignored a little bit and that
things like this are going to happen
more and more and that we haven't really
got any protection against them things
might change though according to the
chief exec of the local council he told
me they are looking at options
everywhere is of is assessed on a risk
assessed basis bridgnorth doesn't flood
that often that's no compensation if
there is flooding here the council
understands that and we will be looking
at and pressing for what we can do for
bridge North in the future isn't the
reality that you need Boris Johnson to
come down here and see this I think we'd
all be all welcome Prime Minister coming
and having a look we can't control that
but it would be welcome to come and
visit us we would host him and enable
him to see the impact that this has had
on our communities what would you say to
the Prime Minister about the impact
what's your message doom today I can't
comment on that
others have plenty to say on that though
but the big question is where's the
Prime Minister where is Boris Johnson
after 2015 we've got support that was
unlocked by corroborating that support
has not been forthcoming this time
because what would it take for that man
to call a cobra meeting at odds with his
response during the run-up to the
election we've not seen any of this this
time around we were told today he has no
plans at the moment to visit anywhere
affected by this month's storms there
are though emergency grants of 500
pounds that people can apply for with
bigger sums for homes and businesses to
help pay for flood defense measures but
in Bridgnorth and many other places
first they need the water to go and the
rain to stop Claire Fallon well in Wales
there's little respite for flooded
communities with more heavy rain
forecast this evening at least a
thousand properties of thought have been
affected the heavy rain has also caused
numerous landslides tonight the Welsh
First Minister said that he will be
asking the UK government to financial
help because of the scale of the damage
a home affairs correspondent Andy Davis
is in Petra in the wrong key Valley and
are you looking going away oh it's mad
it's it's pouring down and that's a real
concern for many communities tonight
this is one of the roads that was really
badly flooded at the weekend and I've
just come from a meeting which was
packed out with residents in this part
of the Rhondda Valley which I think it's
fair to say he feels a little bit
forgotten in all the coverage and there
is real anger there tonight concern
about whether more could have been done
to protect the homes here there are
questions about insurance difficulties
questions about what financial help
might be available to them and this is a
scene being repeated across parts of
Wales over the last few days we've met
many people who today we've met many who
were homeless who were vulnerable and
deeply traumatized
I met one young woman who has mobility
issues and she told me how in the middle
of the morning on Sunday morning the
door burst in she was up to her neck in
floodwater
and crawling up the stairs to escape it
she
she was going to die he she said so
there is deep trauma in some of these
communities you've been speaking to many
people in those communities as you said
what have they been telling you well
just that they feel slightly impotent at
the moment and trying to work out where
the help is going to come from despite
you know an army of volunteers a
phenomenal community response as for the
public authorities the local authority
is sending in as many workers as they
can the Welsh Government has announced
10 million pounds of funding but in an
emergency summit in Cardiff today I was
told that council leaders were getting
text updates as the meeting was going
with new reports of flooded homes of
homes which had been flooded so the
scale of this is immense and the UK
government is so concerned that it's now
the Welsh government had me so concerned
it's asked the Treasury for more funding
the local council here has been saying
their bridges that need repairing roads
that need repairing and in the midst of
this land slip that you saw over the
weekend concerns about that so there are
communities here which really are
suffering right now and in need of help