Ananova:

Flooding in south east England is another warning about the need for urgent action to curb the pollution causing climate change, according to environmental campaigners.

Brenda Pollack, regional campaign co-ordinator at Friends of the Earth, said the Government had to take a lead and push for cuts in carbon dioxide emissions at next month's international talks in The Hague.

"People's homes and lives are at risk if we don't take action soon. The people of Kent could be feeling the effects of climate change lapping at their doorways.

"How long will it be before they are hit in the pocket when their insurance premiums rise due to the increased frequency of flooding in the UK?"

Scientists investigating human-induced climate change have predicted that rising temperatures will lead to more frequent storms and floods. Although no particular storm or flood can be directly attributed to global warming, such events when taken together, do appear to fit that prediction, said FoE.

A recent report from the Association of British Insurers, said potential inland flood losses could be significantly greater than previously estimated due to factors such as climate change and increased building development within or near flood plains.

The Environment Agency says that current predictions for climate change mean that flood risks from rivers and the sea will almost certainly increase over the next 50 years and beyond.

Chairman of the Environment Agency, Sir John Harman, said: "Looking at recent history, reports of flooding are now on average nearly twice as frequent as they were 100 years ago.

"More worryingly, with climate change, we could see up to a tenfold increase in flood risk over the next century. A typical flood that might now happen on average once in 100 years could occur as frequently as every 10 or 20 years in future. In short, today's extreme floods could become tomorrow's norm."

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Environment Minister Michael Meacher are expected to attend next month's negotiations in the Netherlands when countries will decide how to meet their legally binding carbon dioxide reductions agreed at the Kyoto Climate Change in 1997.