SCENES like this piece of Daily Echo trickery showing a waterlogged Winch-ester Cathedral could become a reality if Met Office predictions of more severe weather prove accurate.

This weekend, as we move into high summer, parts of Britain are still in the grip of devastating floods following days of torrential rain more suited to the winter.

Four people have already lost their lives in the flooding across Yorkshire, Humberside and the Midlands and the growing casualty toll now stands at 600.

In what has been described as the biggest rescue effort in peacetime Britain, some 3,500 people have been pulled to safety, tens of thousands evacuated from their homes and whole sections of the M1 motorway and mainline railways were closed.

Fire and rescue services received more than 7,300 calls to flood-related incidents in England and Wales on Monday and Tuesday.

As the Met Office issues a severe weather warning and forecasters predict as much as 50mm of rain in parts of the country tomorrow, Britain is bracing itself for more downpours.

With no sign of Mother Nature letting up, fears of a major flood disaster here on the south coast of England are growing. It would not be the first time Hampshire has been affected by serious flooding.

In 2001, parts of Winchester were submerged under several inches of flood water after prolonged heavy rain caused the River Test and the Itchen Navigation to burst its banks. The area was hit by similar floods in 1999 and 1995, and sandbags are now a familiar site in the city centre streets.

Faced with more severe weather this weekend, should we be concerned?

Tim Kermode, flood risk manager for the Environment Agency in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said: "The risk of this kind of flooding in the south is the same as the rest of the country - one in 100 years. People are right to be concerned but there's no indication that there's a severe risk in the south at the moment.

"Every river responds to heavy rain in a different time scale. In Hampshire we don't have many rivers that respond in two or three days, as we've seen in the north of the country this week - although we have a number of rivers, for example in Winchester, that will cause flooding after six months to two years of prolonged rain, as happened in 2001."

The greatest threat to Hampshire is from tidal flooding, he said.

The biggest danger is along the coasts and tidal estuaries, particularly those on the east and south coasts - which puts Southampton and the surr-ounding areas right in the danger zone.

In 2003 experts identified the coastline between Keyhaven and Lymington, as well as parts of the Waterside, Southampton, Gosport, Portchester, Portsmouth, Havant and Hayling Island, as particularly vulnerable.

In the winter of 2002 the Environ-ment Agency issued 250 flood watches and 86 flood warnings in our area.

But, said Mr Kermode, the Environment Agency spends about £4m a year to try and reduce the flood risk in Hampshire, with methods of protection ranging from basic walls to sophisticated control systems.

Slashed Nationally, the Government spends £800m a year on flood defences but has recently slashed its budgets - despite the increasing cost of flood damage across the nation.

Last year the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) cut its budget for sea defences by £15m. At the same time, a waterlogged Britain continues to cough up an average of £1.4 billion clearing up after floods each year.

By 2080 annual flood damage costs could rise to £27billion according to the Foresight Future Flooding Report, a study commissioned by the Depart-ment for Trade and Industry.

The Environment Agency has recently adopted a new approach to flood management.

Instead of relying exclusively on giant concrete defences it is putting its faith in sand dunes and salt marshes to naturally absorb the water and the energy it carries.

While flooding has undoubtedly increased in recent years, continued Mr Kermode, it is possible the disasters of recent decades are simply a return to normality after an unusual lack of flooding in the 1950s and 60s.

But one thing is for sure - the damage caused by flooding is worsening.

"People's houses are less equipped to deal with floods today," he said.

"Kitchens tend to be made of chipboard and no longer have stone floors."

Furthermore, developers' habit of building houses on flood plains or brownfield sites close to rivers is putting more properties in the firing line.

As the Environment Agency points out, most of the major centres of population in the south are situated on coastal flood plains, making them highly vulnerable - especially if climate change leads to increased storminess and a rise in ocean levels.

"Almost everybody has thought what they would do if there was a fire in their house, but in many cases a flood is more likely," said Mr Kermode.

"The probability of a major flood may be relatively low, but the effects are devastating," he said.

"Spending money on flood risk management could be the best investment this country ever makes."

If you are worried about flooding in your area call the Environment Agency Floodline on 0845 988 1188. For more information about flood risk on the south coast visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk.