Israeli disaster relief team helps UK flooding victims

An Israeli disaster relief team is assisting those left devastated by flooding in the north of England.

Volunteers from IsraAID, who have more recently dealt with the earthquake in Nepal and the migrant crisis in Lesbos, Greece, flew in to distribute aid packages and help families whose homes were destroyed by flood waters.

“We are delivering food, gutting houses, and helping to rebuild homes,” said the organisation’s director Shachar Zahavi. “From what we saw in the UK in the news, it looked worse than ever before.”

He added that there was another team of five coming from Israel after an initial assessment of priority areas.

Storms Desmond and Eva left 16,000 homes flooded across swathes of northern England during the wettest December on record. The counties of Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire were particularly hit.

The British government has been criticised for not doing enough to protect homes and families, but ministers said millions had been spent on flood defence in recent years.