British flood defences to undergo rapid inspection

The British army is set to conduct a rapid inspection of the country's flood defenses after possible damage by unprecedented flooding, officials said. Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said the work would normally be undertaken over the course of two years. Royal Engineers will carry out the inspection of flood defenses beginning Feb. 25, Hammond said, the BBC reported. "What we have done over the last 10 days is push them a bit more aggressively at those civil authorities," he said. "Following the unprecedented weather of weather in recent weeks, there is a need to inspect all of the nation's 150,000 flood defenses across England in record time," the Environment Agency said. "We will then know the latest state of all our flood infrastructure across the country and highlight those which will need repair." Some 14,000 homes were without power Sunday after recent storms and flooding in the country, the BBC reported Sunday. Sixteen flood warnings by the Environment Agency were in place Sunday after weeks of storms. More than 300 lower-level warnings were also issued.