People who have been affected by the flooding of Storm Babet may be eligible for a £500 cash grant from the Government, as well as funding towards repairs and future flood protection.
Torrential downpours and strong winds last week left hundreds homeless, with the storm believed to have claimed seven lives.
Communities Secretary Michael Gove and Environment Secretary Therese Coffey say that the money will be available to those who have experienced 'exceptional localised flooding'. Households can apply for up to £500, while homes and businesses are also eligible for a complete council tax and business rate relief lasting three months, according to ministers.
Small and medium-sized businesses in affected areas will be able to claim up to £2,500 from the Business Recovery Grant, while flood-stricken property owners can apply for up to £5,000 to better protect their properties. Mr Gove said: "The support I am announcing today will give those impacted by these terrible floods a helping hand so they can get back on their feet and recover from Storm Babet.
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"I will continue to work closely with our partners across Government and councils to make sure we are doing all we can to support businesses and families who have had to face such challenging and upsetting circumstances."
The money will be available through local councils, provided by the Flood Recovery Framework - which has only been used twice since its inception in 2017. Ms Coffey added: "My sympathies are with everyone who has experienced the devastating effects of flooding.
"I would like to thank our Environment Agency teams and first responders, with 62,000 properties already protected thanks to our flood defences. Our Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant Scheme will soon be open to help residents better protect their property in the future, giving some peace of mind as they rebuild and repair."
It comes after the Environment Secretary was this week criticised during a visit to flood-hit Retford in Nottinghamshire, with residents claiming she went to 'polish her halo'. Victims said that the area floods annually albeit not as bad as this year, and that the Government should have done more to protect residents before the storm.
The Government meanwhile argue that it protected almost 50,000 homes, and is putting £5.2bn into further defences. Ms Coffey told MPs this week that the storm was harder to predict as it came from the east as opposed to the Atlantic.
The Met Office predicts that extreme rainfall events will quadruple by 2080 should greenhouse gas emissions fail to be curtailed, however, this rises to a tenfold increase for North West Scotland.
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