Devon flood victims meet Caroline Spelman

Yealmpton was one of the places worst affected by the rain where more than 80mm fell in 24 hours

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has met flood victims in Devon, where a huge clean-up operation is under way after severe flooding.

<link> <caption>Flood alerts remain on the Stour and Exe rivers</caption> <url href="http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/31618.aspx" platform="highweb"/> </link> after the county had a month's worth of rain in 24 hours.

Ms Spelman spoke of the importance of flood prevention schemes during a visit to Ottery St Mary, near Exeter.

One of the culverts she was taken to stopped water from entering 60 nearby properties last Friday.

Resident Elizabeth Nickels, 62, who spoke to Ms Spelman about the flooding, said they had been incredibly lucky the flood prevention scheme had been completed just weeks ago.

She said: "The water was coming off East Hill in absolute torrents and they were absolutely unable to get in and out of that part of the town.

"So we were so much luckier on this side of the town, I mean the defence worked, and thank goodness for it, when you think it's only been finished a few weeks it was exactly at the right time."

Ms Spelman also spoke about how important social media had become as a way of warning residents as she thanked staff at the Met Office in Exeter for the work they have been doing to warn people about the bad weather.

Philip and Nolwenn Luke said text alerts prompted them to move their car away from flooding

Philip and Nolwenn Luke told Ms Spelman that the Environment Agency's early warning text message system had allowed them to move their car to safety before the floods hit.

Yealmpton was one of the places worst affected by the rain where more than 80mm (3.1in) fell in 24 hours. Forecasters are predicting more changeable weather this week with mainly light and patchy rain.

More than 270 weather-related incidents were reported on roads across the county over the weekend, Devon County Council said.

All A and B roads were checked for damage and were open, with any repairs needed on A-roads already under way, it said.

Unclassified roads were being assessed as damage reports came in, the council said.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, from the county council, said the repair bill would "undoubtedly run into millions of pounds".

He said: "It will probably be on a similar scale to what we have seen during some of the recent harsh winters."

Insurance claims

South Hams District Council said its officers had worked alongside the emergency services at the weekend to assist people affected in the Modbury and Yealmpton areas.

It added that leaflets were being handed out to residents about how to clean up safely, and businesses - particularly food retailers - were being contacted to see what assistance they required to reopen.

About 30 properties were affected in Axminster.

The Association of British Insurers said its members were "doing an awful lot to help people".

Matt Cullen from the association said: "Loss adjusters are being deployed as quickly as possible to help people start making their claims. "All the companies have 24-hour helplines as well."

South West Trains said flooding was disrupting train services in the Axminster area and it was unable to serve stations between Yeovil Junction and Honiton.

It said a normal service was not expected to resume before Wednesday.

Staff at Dartmoor Zoo, at Sparkwell near Plymouth, were supposed to be celebrating the fifth anniversary of the attraction reopening on Saturday.

Managers said they spent much of the weekend repairing paths after a drainage system was "totally overwhelmed" by rain causing 6in (15cm) deep trenches in paths.

The Environment Agency has encouraged people to check its <link> <caption>website</caption> <url href="http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/31618.aspx" platform="highweb"/> </link> , as well as its <link> <caption>Twitter feed</caption> <url href="https://twitter.com/EnvAgencySW" platform="highweb"/> </link> and <link> <caption>Facebook</caption> <url href="http://www.facebook.com/environmentagency" platform="highweb"/> </link> pages for the latest information.

Its flood line service - on 0845 9881188 - can also provide advice.