Boris Johnson has sent an extra 100 troops to help areas of the north and midlands devastated by severe flooding.
The Prime Minister was desperate to get on the front foot after criticism of the government’s sluggish response.
Mr Johnson also pledged thousands of pounds to help the worst-hit communities after being pressured into holding an emergency meeting by Jeremy Corbyn .
Mr Johnson announced a business fund £2,500 would be made available to businesses affected by flooding, while the equivalent of £500 per household would be offered to councils to help communities with their immediate recovery.
An extra 100 UK Armed Forces personnel will also be deployed to South Yorkshire to help support the recovery effort.
And the UK Standby Battalion, based in Catterick, will be deployed from tomorrow.
Speaking after a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee, he said the country had to “prepare for more floods” this winter because the ground is so waterlogged.
He said: “The worry for me is that there are some people who are continuing not to listen to the advice of the emergency services.
“I would just say to people – the emergency services do have sound advice. When they advise you to evacuate, you should do so.”
Mr Johnson added: “In the next few weeks and months, the rainfall could cause flooding in many parts of the country and we simply have to be prepared.”
He said the authorities are working “flat out” to deliver an adequate response, adding: “I know there will be people who feel that that isn’t good enough.
“I know there will be people who are worrying about the damage to their homes, who will be worried about the insurance situation, worried about the losses they face.
(Image: Facebook)
“All I want to say to those people is that there are schemes to cover those losses.”
It comes after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn branded the Government’s response as “woeful”, while Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said it was not taking it as seriously enough.
Mr Corbyn said if the flooding had happened in Surrey in the South East, it “would have been a very different story”.
The Government’s emergency Bellwin scheme reimburses councils for costs they incur during a response to flooding, for items such as rest centres, temporary accommodation and staff overtime.
Annie Hall, the former high sheriff of Derbyshire, died after she was swept away by water on Friday in Darley Dale, near Matlock.
Downpours last week meant several areas in Yorkshire and the East Midlands were struck by a month’s worth of rain in a single day.
Around half the 700 residents of Fishlake, near Doncaster, left the village and those who stayed behind have faced waist-high floods.
