Chancellor George Osborne announced a £140m investment for UK flood defences in his Budget today, but risk experts warned this would not be enough to plug gaps.
The funding boost was a response to the 'exceptionally poor weather this winter' he said.
'I am making an additional £140m available, on top of that already provided, for immediate repair and maintenance to damaged flood defences across Britain,' said Osborne
However, the chancellor was accused of not doing enough.
Jon Williams, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers' sustainability and climate change practice, said the £140m would not 'plug the gap needed to ensure the UK is resilient to flooding in the medium term'.
'Even after this additional funding, there is still an estimated £500m shortfall if we are to maintain flood defences to avoid in future the estimated £1bn of insured losses and further uninsured economic costs incurred as a result of this winter's floods.
'This also ignores the additional investment that will be needed if we are to adapt to a changing climate. Given the current budgetary constraints, this funding in unlikely to only come from the public purse, and further ways to involve the private sector to build the infrastructure and manage flood risk, such as Flood Re, need to be developed.'
But others welcomed the extra funding. Deloitte said increased spending should have come sooner.
'Increased spending on flood defences can't come soon enough for 200,000 households in Britain whose homes are at very high risk of flooding and will help keep premiums affordable,' James Rakow, insurance partner at the firm said.
'Large scale floods are devastating and can cause damage worth billions with the typical cost of a flood claim ranging between £30,000 and £40,000. I estimated the flood and storms late last year and in January and February this year caused at least £1.2bn of damage.'
