Andrew Culley of Herefordshire County Council: "Things are not going to get any better"

Earlier this week the government said "lessons must be learned" from the Easter floods which killed five people and made thousands homeless.

Countryside Minister Elliot Morley announced a major review of flood forecasting and warning.

Wales can expect more rain this weekend

But this week has seen heavy rains and chronic flooding in much of South Wales, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Devon, Cornwall and Northern Ireland.

Rhian Jenkins, whose parents' pub in Aberdulais, South Wales, was flooded on Friday, said: "There was just no warning at all."

Warning for Wales

But Archie Robertson, Director of the Environment Agency, said: "We knew on Thursday things were going to be difficult which is why we put out around 20 red warnings and a general warning for Wales.

Archie Robertson, director of the Environment Agency, defends their record on flood warnings

"We have been able to anticipate the impact on rivers and evacuate people from their homes where there are no flood defence systems. And the defences, especially those put in after the 1979 floods, have been extremely effective," he said.

Easter floods cost £1bn

It is too early to say whether the floods are worse than the Easter deluge when five people lost their lives, about 4,500 buildings were inundated and damage of up to £1bn was caused.

Those floods mainly affected the Midlands. The authorities which suffered the worst damage, including Northampton, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire and Worcester, will receive government aid.

Tim Yeo: Government should not play King Canute

Earlier this month, an independent report commissioned by the Environment Agency found that most of the victims received no warnings from the agency, and the whole warning system was highly confused.

Shadow Countryside Minister Tim Yeo said earlier this week that the risk of flooding would be increased by the development of housing on green field sites and the prospect of climate change.

He said: "The important thing is not to act like King Canute.