Effect of the floods in Cumbria

Press Association

Flood-damaged parts of the UK are bracing themselves for more heavy rain today after two days of downpours that inundated homes, swept away bridges, sparked evacuations and claimed the life of a policeman.

PC Bill Barker. Photograph: Cumbria constabulary/PA

Gordon Brown has pledged an extra £1m to help flood-hit communities in Cumbria, which yesterday suffered the worst downpour in British history, with 314mm – more than a foot of rain – falling in 24 hours.

Brown announced the funding on a visit to the flood-stricken county where PC Bill Barker died after a bridge collapsed.

More than 1,300 households across Cumbria have been affected, with hundreds of people displaced and more than 1,000 homes left without power. About 100 people remain in emergency shelters.

A thorough searchof houses affected by the flooding began this morning, as the emergency services advised people not to return to their homes yet and forecasters predicted fresh downpours.

The Met Office has predicted another 15mm (0.5in) to 40mm (1.6in) of rain in Cumbria today. Four bridges collapsed in the county and 11 remain closed due to fast-flowing floodwaters.

There are four severe flood warnings in force in Cumbria and 19 flood warnings across Scotland, northern England, the Midlands and Wales. There are flood watches in another 50 areas.

Both rivers that run through Cockermouth – the town worst affected by the flooding – burst their banks, blocking roads and forcing more than 200 people from their homes.

A police spokesman said: "Nobody has been reported missing in the area at this time and