Crisis Deepens in Britain Over Unprecedented Flooding

A humanitarian crisis in central and western England was deepening last night with up to 1 million people affected by Britain's worst floods in modern history. Thousands are poised to evacuate their homes today with the banks of the two largest rivers in Britain, the Severn and the Thames, threatening to burst.

Up to 350,000 people in Gloucestershire could be without running water for up to two weeks, authorities said as they warned that it could be a year before some evacuated families are able to move back to their devastated homes.

The heart of England has been paralyzed, with scores of towns and villages submerged or cut off. Up to 10,000 homes are either flooded or at risk of flooding in seven counties — Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire. Countless more are without running water, electricity, or telephone lines.

Fresh water tankers and bottled supplies are struggling to get through to all the flooded areas.