Official documents show that the UK government’s own advisory body warned that a funding gap could leave swaths of the north vulnerable to flooding just weeks before the deluge this Christmas. Head of the Yorkshire regional flood and coastal committee (RFCC) Prof Colin Mellors, said funding cuts could mean discontinuing some flood defences, according to minutes on the government’s website. The decision not to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the increased flood risk came in October just a few weeks before the flooding in Cumbria before Christmas and the most recent flooding in Lancashire and Yorkshire The Guardian reports: The disclosure came as opposition MPs representing northern constituencies affected by the floods rounded on David Cameron for neglecting defences outside the south of England, creating a north-south divide in preparedness. There is forecast to be a brief period of respite on Tuesday with the weather conditions easing, but gales and downpours were expected to return from the evening, with Cumbria and southern and central Scotland most at risk of more disruption from Storm Frank. Most of the nine remaining “severe” flood warnings issued by the EA for England and Wales – meaning potential loss of life – are centred on [...]