FASTER and more accurate flood warnings were announced today - as experts emphasised how close North Yorkshire came to catastrophic loss of life during June's flash floods.

The Environment Agency was revealing details of a £1 million upgrade to its telemetry system, which monitors the flow of water in critical rivers and streams.

It was also explaining how more accurate warnings could be given to communities at risk of flooding, and how people could get swifter access to such warnings.

In future, flood alerts will be sent out by text message and mobile phone calls as well as pagers, and the agency's website is also being upgraded so it can better handle sudden surges in the number of "hits" during floods. The news comes only days after a professor at the University of York's Stockholm Environment Institute warned flooding could make York uninhabitable within 30 years unless action was taken to address climate change and tackle regional flood risks.

Professor John Whitelegg warned there could be loss of life in the city if floodwaters rose suddenly.

The agency today raised fresh concerns about how close bikers camping in Duncombe Park, near Helmsley, came to being killed in June's flash floods, and revealed that efforts may be made to ensure campers get flood warnings in future. A report by Flood Risk Manager Peter Holmes to today's meeting of the Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee said that if the floods had struck a day earlier, when the camp site was more densely populated, there would have been "significant risk of major loss of life".

He said campsites were temporary in nature and under current planning legislation, exempt from planning permission and would therefore not be referred to the agency. "This means that they would not benefit from any advice the agency could give with respect to flood risk."

He said the agency would now raise this issue at a regional forum.

He said the costs to the agency of reacting to the flooding and helping in the clear up afterwards had been assessed at £112,000. He said: "The total cost to other organisations to repair damage to infrastructure and remove debris has been estimated to be in excess of £3 million.

"In addition, there is a substantial cost of repair to property as a result of this flood.

"The total cost of the floods was now estimated at £3 million."

He said the agency had been in discussions with Hambleton District Council to determine how best to take forward a proposed flood alleviation scheme for Cod Beck.

He said: "Hambleton are to decide how they wish to proceed; they have the option of implementing the scheme themselves or handing the work they have carried out on the feasibility so far to the agency. Hambleton have indicated that they will make a decision in November."

Updated: 11:06 Thursday, October 06, 2005