UK flood damage 'was preventable'

Some of the damage from the recent floods in the UK could have been prevented if the correct water management techniques had been used, a group of experts has said.

In an open letter, the experts – representing 15 organisations including the Institution of Environmental Sciences, the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors - urged David Cameron to convene a cross-departmental conference bringing together Whitehall departments, the Environment Agency and the professions to put in place measures to prevent a repeat of the current floods.