UK weather: Govt told to ‘wake up and smell the flood water’ amid warning more homes will be affected
The government is being urged to “wake up and smell the flood water” following Storm Henk – amid fears that climate change is making extreme weather events more common.
More than 1,800 properties have flooded after heavy downpours fell on already sodden ground, and the Environment Agency has warned more homes will be affected as river levels remain high.
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Hundreds of homes submerged by floods
Mary Long-Dhonau, a long-time campaigner for flood resilience, has told Sky News that she believes the government has failed to do enough to prepare for such a storm.
She is urging Rishi Sunak to visit flooded communities, and see first-hand what homeowners are going through after their properties were “absolutely devastated”.
“Having filthy, stinking flood water violate your home is absolutely awful. Your home is your castle and people naturally want to look after it,” Ms Long-Dhonau said.
The campaigner, who has experienced the impact of flooding for herself, warned affected families will now have to “project manage a building site” while their homes are repaired.
She also called for farmers to receive greater support after their fields were inundated with water, and said natural flood management measures must be introduced nationwide.
Mary Long-Dhonau
The government has unveiled a financial package for eligible areas in England that have suffered exceptional localised flooding.
Flooded households can receive £500 in cash to assist with immediate costs, council tax relief for at least three months, and up to £5,000 to make their properties more flood resilient in the future.
Support is also being made available to businesses – with grants of up to £2,500 so they can reopen.
Meanwhile, farmers who have suffered uninsurable damage to their land are eligible to receive as much as £25,000.
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‘Biblical’ flooding scenes in Nottinghamshire
‘Remain vigilant,’ Environment Agency warns
While rainfall has subsided, river levels remain elevated and are expected to stay this way for several days.
According to the Environment Agency (EA), parts of the River Thames in Oxfordshire – as well as the River Trent near Nottingham and the River Severn including Glocuester – are cause for concern.
As of 1am on Sunday, 192 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – are still in force. There are also 207 flood alerts that indicate flooding is possible.
Emergency responders are using temporary pumps, barriers and defences in an attempt to stop further homes and businesses from being flooded.
EA flood duty manager Katharine Smith said: “We urge people not to drive through flood water… it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.”
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Mostly dry today
Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler says showery rain in the North and North East will fizzle out over time – and there will be a few showers in the South and South East, too.
She added: “Elsewhere, it’ll be dry with some good sunny spells where the fog clears.”
Daytime temperatures are set to remain below 5C (41F) for many – and the UK Health Security Agency has a cold weather alert in force until Friday.
However, the weather is set to be fairly settled over the next few days, and the Met Office currently has no warnings in force.
England star Jess Carter says she has been the victim of racist abuse online during the UEFA Women’s Euros in Switzerland.
The Lionesses defender, who has 49 England caps, said she will be “taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with”.
In an Instagram post, the 27-year-old player said: “From the start of the tournament, I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.”
Jess Carter. Pic: PA
Carter said she was stepping back from social media to “protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can”.
She added: “Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it.”
Carter also said that England have made some “historic changes with the Lionesses squad” that she was “so proud” of, and she hopes that by speaking out about racial abuse “it will make another positive change for all”.
‘Abhorrent abuse’
The Football Association leadership has condemned the “abhorrent abuse” against Carter and has contacted UK police about it.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said in a statement: “Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs. We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.
“As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.”
Carter during a training session in Switzerland. Pic: PA
The Lionesses said in a statement: “We stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism.
“No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life.”
They added: “Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.”
Anger and sadness
England teammate Lucy Bronze said there was “anger” and “sadness” among the squad following the abuse.
Bronze said: “I think we all know that any player of colour that’s played for England has probably gone through racist abuse. That’s a sad fact.”
She told Sky News’ sports correspondent Rob Harris that social media platforms need to be held more accountable.
Bronze added: “People need to be held accountable for their actions, whether it’s in-person or online. The abuse is not okay. Racism is not okay.”
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The prime minister said on X that there was “no place for racism in football or anywhere in society”.
Sir Keir Starmer added: “I stand with Jess, the Lionesses, and any players who have suffered racism, on and off the pitch.”
Carter has started all four of England’s games at the tournament.
The defending champions face Italy on Tuesday night in Geneva in the Euros semi-finals. If they win and reach the final, they will play either Germany or Spain, who face each other on Wednesday.
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The Lionesses also said that until now, they have chosen to take the knee before matches.
“It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism,” they said.
England won’t be taking the knee before semi-final
The Lionesses said they have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick-off in the match against Italy.
“We hope the game can come together to see what more can be done.”
Kneeling, a symbolic anti-racism gesture, came to prominence in 2016 when NFL player Colin Kaepernick knelt in protest during the United States national anthem and became more widespread during the Black Lives Matter movement.
As head of football’s anti-racism body, there was dread for Sanjay Bhandari watching England’s Women’s Euros quarter-final with Sweden.
But that’s, grimly, how it always is. Concerned that black players will be singled out for blame. Not with a legitimate critique of their performances, but with toxicity and racism.
And now Kick It Out is working with the Football Association to support Jess Carter after the England defender spoke out over the abuse she has been targeted with throughout the Women’s European Championship.
The players want social media firms to do more, but Mr Bhandari, the Kick It Out chairman, is concerned by their limited approach to the scourge of online hate.
Jess Carter says she has been the target of racist abuse. Pic: PA
“The social media companies need to do far more,” he told Sky News. “They’ve actually gone backwards over the last four or five years, not forwards. It’s got worse on social media, not better.
“And they need to provide us with the tools to help keep us safe and to remove some of this toxicity from the platforms. They’re just not doing enough.
“I would say that X is the worst. It has become no-holds-barred.
“And with Instagram, it is much more in the direct messaging, and I think there needs to be much more done there to protect people from those messages.”
Meta, which owns Instagram, did not reply to a request for comment.
There was no response from an email sent to X’s press email address.
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‘People need to be held accountable’ after Euros racism
LinkedIn indicated that X’s UK managing director Jonathan Lewis’s account had seen a request for comment, but there was no response.
On Friday, Mr Lewis and Premier League club Burnley were celebrating a new partnership in an announcement that made no mention of the abuse that many players across the world face on X.
The hope is that the Online Safety Act will lead to social media firms implementing the safety tools required of them.
Mr Bhandari said: “They have to be enforced by law enforcement against individual perpetrators, and also the regulatory parts need to be forced against the social media companies to force them to do the things that they need to do.”
Grimly familiar situation
The FA reported the abuse suffered by Carter to police, and the hope is for speedy action because this is a grimly familiar situation.
After the men’s Euros final in 2021, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused after missing penalties in the shootout defeat to Italy.
Bukayo Saka was among the England players targeted after missing penalties in the Euros final. Pic: Reuters
While players have been taking a knee against racism in men’s and women’s games, the Lionesses feel that is no longer enough at these Euros.
They will stand instead before the semi-final with Italy because they say a new approach is needed to tackle racism.
Read more from Sky News:
Lionesses ‘very optimistic’ Williamson will be fit for semi-final
Team went from sloppy to celebratory in nerve-shredding quarters
Carter didn’t just face racism around the quarter-final that England won on penalties after fighting back from 2-0 down against Sweden here in Zurich.
She has been subjected to abuse throughout the Euros.
“I’m really feeling for Jess and what’s sad is that this is shocking, but not surprising,” Mr Bhandari said.
“I watch every England game, at every tournament, with the fear that after the match, there’s going to be abuse of a black player using the spurious basis of performance as an excuse to justify unjustifiable racism. All racism is unjustifiable.
“The fact that someone’s had a good or bad game in your opinion does not justify that kind of racist abuse.”
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