LONDON
Hundreds have been evacuated from their homes as floods continue to batter parts of the UK.
The UK's national weather service has issued various weather warnings for Wednesday, severe flood warnings have been in place along the Thames River and 16 severe flood warnings are in place in Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset. Around a thousand homes have been damaged in towns and villages along the river.
A total of 1,600 military personnel have been deployed to southern England to assist those affected by the floods. Emergency services have been working to rescue stranded residents in various places.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has been visiting the heavily damaged areas, said Tuesday that the government would do everything it could. "If money needs to be spent, it will be spent. If resources are required, we will provide them and if the military can help, they will be there," he added.
Cameron later held a press conference at 10 Downing Street regarding the floods. He also announced the cancellation of his planned visit to Israel next week to deal with the ongoing crisis.
"I am sending my apologies today to (Israeli) Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and (Palestinian) President (Mahmoud) Abbas, but nothing is more important than dealing with these floods," he said.
Britain's rail network has also been affected. Due to the heavy rainfall near Maidenhead, trains from London's Paddington Station have been delayed.
January has been the wettest month in the UK in 200 years. More than 5,000 homes have been flooded in the last two months.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
