1. Flooding in the UK Cockermouth, Cumbria November 2009

2. Cockermouth in Cumbria The pretty Georgian market town of Cockermouth was flooded because it is where two large rivers merge.

4. Cockermouth www.multimap.co.uk www.multimap.co.uk

5. Cockermouth Cumbria The town, birthplace of William Wordsworth, suffered after a record rainfall in 24 hours meant the Cocker and Derwent burst their banks. The River Cocker rises 12 miles away in the Lake District, where it will have picked up millions of gallons of water from the Cumbrian fells. And the Upper Derwent is fed by several rivers in valleys at the head of Borrowdale.

6. Lake District, Cumbria

7. old bridges tended to be more vulnerable to the effects of such deluges than modern structures, which are built higher above water level and span the whole width of the river without needing central arches that can break down under the force of floodwater. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

9. Around 100 residents flooded out of their homes were still sheltering in reception centres on Saturday after a bridge over the River Derwent in Cockermouth collapsed under the weight of water, killing a police officer. Three further bridges were also destroyed by the torrents, caused by a record rainfall of 12.3 inches (31.4cm) in just 24 hours. www.telegraph.couk A respected community policeman (and father of four) who was swept away in swollen flood waters as he went to the aid of stranded motorists. www.timesonline.co. uk

10. Gordon Brown visited Cumbria to see the damage caused by a flood of 'biblical' proportions and announced that an extra £1 million would be made available to help the affected areas. www.telegraph.co.ukand announced that an extra £1 million www.telegraph.co.uk

11. Mr Brown also paid tribute to other members of the emergency services. He said: What you have done over the past few days is tackle one of the greatest rainfalls we ve seen in our country, and you ve done it with such superb organisation that I wanted to tell you, on behalf of the whole country, how proud we are of you. http://www.dailymail.co.uk http://www.dailymail.co.uk

13. Businesses damaged

14. It went 5ft up the walls. Everything was ruined and the whole of downstairs is covered in sludge. www.dailymail.co.uk www.guardian.co.uk

15. www.timesonline.co.uk

18. How can technology help?

19. Video clip? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7twl2HfGs8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnXKNQvBw oY&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnXKNQvBw oY&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSdKTN089K c&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSdKTN089K c&feature=related