British PM Cameron visits flood-hit city of York

British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the flood-hit historic city of York on Monday as cities, towns and villages across northern England battled to get back on their feet following devastating storms.

 Cameron met soldiers and volunteers helping with the aftermath of the flooding as he faced increasing pressure to take more action to prevent further chaos in future.

 Around 500 properties were flooded in York, one of Britain's top tourist destinations, on Sunday as two rivers burst their banks. Some residential streets became so inundated that cars were covered up to their roofs.

Soldiers helped pile sandbags up to protect properties and businesses while emergency services paddled around the streets in dinghies trying to find stranded residents.

 Flooding has also hit the northern cities of Leeds and Manchester in recent days, as well as a string of towns and villages in the region.

 "Let's have a look and see whether more needs to be done," Cameron told Sky News when asked about his government's response.

 "After any one of these events, it's right to sit down, look at what you've spent, what you've built, what you're planning to spend, what you're planning to build and work out is it in the right places, are we doing it in the right way, do we need to do more?"

 The Environment Agency had 10 severe flood warnings in place Monday, signalling a "danger to life", chiefly at points along major rivers in Yorkshire.

 There were also over 150 flood warning or alerts in place in England and Wales, meaning flooding was either expected or possible.

 Cameron sent in 200 more troops to help 300 already on the ground in northern England with tackling the effects of flooding Sunday. Another 1,000 are on standby in case the situation gets worse.

 More rain is forecast later in the week, raising the prospect of further floods at a time when many people are still at home following Christmas celebrations.

 The Met Office weather forecasting service has issued warnings of rain on Wednesday in northwest and northeast England plus Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland.

Photo: British Prime Minister David Cameron (centre) greeting British soldiers doing flood relief work after the river Ouse burst its banks, in York (AFP)