By DPA
London : Britain's already dramatic "summer floods" which have paralysed parts of the country are far from over and further flooding is "very likely," Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said Monday.
"We believe that up to 10,000 homes have been or could be flooded," Benn told parliament in an update on the emergency which has hit central and south-west Britain.
With further rainfalls being forecast, the Environment Agency (EA) said that crisis point could be reached in some areas.
"We have not seen flooding of this magnitude before. The benchmark was 1947 and this has already exceeded it," said EA spokesman Anthony Perry.
Earlier, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said his government had stepped up funds for the improvement of flood and coastal defences to 800 million pounds ($1.6 billion) by 2011.
Brown made a clear link between the extreme weather and climate change.
"Like every advanced industrialized country, we are coming to terms with the issues surrounding climate change," he told a news conference.
In Gloucestershire, in south-west Britain, and in nearby Tewkesbury, up to 350,000 people were left without drinking water Monday after a treatment plant was flooded, the local authorities said.
Up to 250 tankers were despatched to supply drinking water to residents in and around Gloucester, where the threat of dwindling fresh water supplies had earlier sparked panic buying in supermarkets.
"This loss of water supply is serious and we do not expect houses to have service restored for some days," said Benn.
Insurance experts have estimated the damage and devastation caused by the flooding at over two billion pounds.
Local authorities said up to 350,000 people were affected by the floods in the Gloucestershire region alone, where 150,000 homes were without water and 43,000 residences left without power.
Benn said it was possible that a further 200,000 homes could lose power as a result of the current floods.
The Environment Agency confirmed that the floods had already exceeded the levels of 1947, when many of the country's rivers burst their banks, causing widespread flooding and devastation in the south of England, the Midlands, East Anglia and North Yorkshire.
A total of eight severe flood warnings were in place Monday, and 50 other flood warnings remained in force across England and Wales.
The picturesque town of Tewkesbury, where the rivers Avon and Severn meet, has been cut off by the floods since last Friday.
Residents have been airlifted to safety by Royal Air Force (RAF) helicopters.
The RAF said it was involved in its biggest peacetime rescue operation.
Responding to widespread criticism of inadequate flood defences, Brown said it was clear that existing structures needed to be reviewed.