New measures to tackle flooding

Villages were left under water for days during last summer's floods

Local authorities will be expected to play a key role in flood prevention in the future, ministers will say later.

They are expected to announce extra funding for councils to deal with surface water flooding caused by heavy rain overwhelming drainage systems.

A series of measures, predominantly affecting England, aim to prepare for the increased risk of floods.

A report into last summer's devastating floods sought "urgent and fundamental changes" to deal with the problem.

Its author, Sir Michael Pitt, was highly critical of national preparedness for severe flooding after the 2007 deluge which left 13 people dead and 44,600 homes flooded.

Yorkshire and the Midlands were among the worst-hit, and the Humber and south-west England were also severely affected.

Of about 17,000 families forced from their homes in England, about 1,000 were still living upstairs or in temporary accommodation earlier this month.

Clean-up costs

Sir Michael's report called on the government to set out publicly how it would make rapid progress on improving flood resilience.

Under the plans, to be announced on Wednesday, six local authorities will be given funding and responsibility for dealing with surface water.

We all need to face up to flood risk as climate change will dramatically increase the number of homes affected Paul Leinster, Environment Agency

They will have to co-ordinate their actions with the emergency services, the Environment Agency and other bodies.

One of Sir Michael's main recommendations was greater clarity as to who does what during heavy flooding.

Ministers are also expected to reveal plans for a new national centre for flood forecasting.

Climate change

The Environment Agency said the annual clean-up cost of flooding was currently about