Virgin Trains have updated their information for anyone travelling on their services tomorrow. 

One of the problems in Carlisle is that the flood defences were built to withstand a flood of 7.2m - but water levels rose to 7.9m in the early hours of Sunday, says BBC correspondent Danny Savage. 

In the short term, affected residents have to think about the security of their homes while they are not in them. 

In the medium term, they have to have their houses dried out and getting them back to normal. 

And in the long term, residents will have to worry about premiums possibly going up and any impact the floods might have on the ability for them to sell their homes.

The Met Office's chief scientist Dame Julia Slingo says the extreme weather conditions over the past few days have been "extraordinary". 

She told the BBC: "Is it to do with climate change? There can't yet be a definitive answer but we know that all the evidence from fundamental physics and what we understand about our weather patterns, that there is potentially a role."

Emergency services from across the UK were sent to Cumbria to help deal with the floods, BBC's Danny Savage says. With the water now slowly receding, they have been sent back to their home areas, he says. 

For many people in north-west England tonight, the situation is "still dire", says our correspondent, with thousands of homes ruined and roads looking like canals.

Bryn Coleman, a flood adviser from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue who is assisting in Carlisle, says people are finding it increasingly hard to stay in their homes.

He said: "There's no power. A lot of these people have been in their own properties, and wish to remain in their own properties, since the flood started. Obviously some of them are now really suffering. And the hardship, you know, you really can't get across the hardship of these people.

Carlisle residents Campbell and Julie Hannah were rescued, along with their two daughters, from the upstairs of their flooded home by boat on Sunday. They returned on Monday to see what had survived the deluge. 

Image source, PA

Image source, PA

Image source, PA

That's the warning from Dr Stephen Cornelius, WWF-UK's chief adviser on climate change, who added: "We must urgently reduce our carbon emissions and better protect those people most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, wherever they may live in the world. 

"It is another example of why we need a good deal at the Paris climate talks that will set us on a path to a safer, low-carbon future."

Sgt Stewart Campbell, of Cumbria Police, sought to reassure people about the security of evacuated homes.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 live, he said: "It is a concern, obviously. And there's going to be a police presence here for the foreseeable future - certainly until the point that we can be assured that everybody's out of their house, and they're out of their house safely. But we're not going to be just walking away from the scene.

This arts organisation in Cumbria has praised a "great response from Eden" to its appeal for donations for victims of the flooding.

It's been a busy couple of days for Electricity North West engineers, currently working at Lancaster's main substation to restore power to more than 40,000 homes. Just a few hours ago power had been restored to customers following problems late on Saturday night, when flooding to the substation cut off supply to 55,000 properties.  

Image source, Electricity North West

The prime minister has been in Carlisle this afternoon.Mr Cameron visited the flood barriers, attended a meeting of flood rescue services at Carlisle's police headquarters and met members of the armed forces who have been helping with relief efforts.

Image source, AFP/Getty

Image source, AFP/Getty

Image source, AFP/Getty

So what do those rainfall records actually mean? 

If you're having problems visualising what 341.4mm of rain looks like, our image here should help... 

There are now 44 severe flood warnings in place, the Environment Agency says.

Mark Williamson, operations director for Electricity North West, said of the latest power cuts: "We are onsite and investigating the cause and we will update customers as soon as we find out more and again we would like to thank our customers for their patience and support during what continues to be an enormously challenging time for everyone involved.”   

Following the tweet sent by Electricity North West, its press office has said the number of those affected in the Lancaster area is actually 42,000 - not 61,000 as they (and we) earlier reported. 

There are also still 2,657 homes in Cumbria currently without power.

Power has been lost again in the Lancaster area - more than 60,000 homes are affected.

The flood defences in Cumbria - where millions of pounds were spent on flood barriers after the 2009 floods - will be re-examined, says David Cameron.