In a statement, he said: “The thoughts of the whole country will be with the people in Cumbria and the north-west who have suffered so terribly from the devastating storms this weekend. The government is doing everything it can to help those who have seen their homes flooded – and to try and prevent further damage.
“I would like to pay a huge tribute to all those emergency workers and troops who have worked tirelessly to respond to this weekend’s events. There has been a tremendous response from local communities too, with people taking in families affected by the flooding.”
David Cameron is to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee on Monday to assess the response to the floods in north-west England.
Emergency services remain stretched as they call on extra resources to cope with floods caused by Storm Desmond during the weekend. Strong winds and heavy rain tore through Britain and a major incident was declared in Cumbria, the worst affected county. At least 60,000 homes were left without power and many are now lacking clean water.
As the Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, called on the government to provide additional funding for flood repairs, the prime minister pledged that the government would do all it could to help those affected by the floods.
In a letter to the prime minister, Farron said the government must back up its commitment to the “northern powerhouse” by providing support to homeowners and businesses affected by the flooding.
The Lib Dem leader, whose Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency has been badly hit by the floods, wrote: “That rhetoric [on the northern powerhouse] must now be backed up by action – it is essential that areas in Cumbria which have been hit by flooding are now given the resources they need to rebuild.
“Indeed, whilst I support the government’s plans for greater infrastructure spending in the north of England, the reality is that very significant sums will be required in areas like South Lakeland simply to restore pre-existing infrastructure to its prior levels.”