Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email
Parts of East Anglia could be abandoned to the sea forever after being flooded eight weeks ago, the Environment Agency has said.
The largest tidal surge in 60 years hit the east coast on December 5 and 6 causing extensive flooding as water poured over the top of flood defences or broke through them.
Repairing or improving flood defences is so expensive that areas of countryside which are still under water could be abandoned if no one lives there.
“We must prioritise repairs to flood defences that protect homes and communities and we are getting on with this,” said an Environment Agency spokeswoman.
“Coastal wildlife sites provide important flood defence functions as well as havens for wildlife. We are working with Natural England on how these wildlife sites will evolve in the future.”
Show all 60 1 /60In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Surrey Thorpe Park in Surrey sits in flood water
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Surrey Flood water at Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Surrey Flood water surrounds the M3 motorway near to Chertsey, Surrey, as Royal Engineers were now being tasked to carry out a high-speed assessment of damage to the UK's flood defence infrastructure
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Chertsey Tom Poulter surveys the damage in his flooded garden which backs on to the Thames in Chertsey
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Chertsey Tom Poulter wades across his flooded garden to his house in Chertsey
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Chertsey Laleham Reach resident of 20 years Tom Poulter wades across his flooded garden to his house in Chertsey
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Chertsey Carol Murdoch assesses the damage to her flooded shed in Chertsey
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Chertsey Laleham Reach resident Steve Rastall returns home with supplies of shopping and logs for the fire in Chertsey
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Hurley A woman uses a dinghy to transport her children from their property, which is situated adjacent to the river Thames and surrounded by flood water in Hurley
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Hurley The pavilion of Hurley Cricket Club, which is situated near to the river Thames, is surrounded by flood water in Hurley
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Staines-Upon-Thames Flood water surrounds housing in Staines-Upon-Thames, England
Getty Images
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Wargrave A large house near the River Thames is surrounded by flood water in Wargrave
Getty Images
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Worcester Floodwater in the town of Worcester in western England
Getty Images
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Wraysbury Nigel Gray leaves his home in a rowing boat after the river Thames flooded the village of Wraysbury
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Wraysbury The front gate to a house is seen surrounded by water after the river Thames flooded the village of Wraysbury
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Wraysbury A resident wearing homemade waders carries a dog through floodwater as residents begin to evacuate homes in Wraysbury
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Datchet Residents carry sandbags through flood water to protect their homes as flood water continues to rise after the river Thames burst it's banks in Datchet
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Datchet Locals look at flooded railway lines after river Thames burst it's banks in Datchet
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Datchet A man brings a family member home on a boat after flood water continues to rise after the river Thames burst it's banks in Datchet
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Datchet A youth cycles through flood water after the river Thames burst it's banks on February in Datchet
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Nigel Farage wades in water as he visits a flooded property at Burrowbridge on the Somerset Levels near Bridgwater
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Moorlands A general view of an owners home that has been affected by flooding in Moorlands
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Burrowbridge Flood waters engulf a house with a wall of sandbags around it in Burrowbridge
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset A car sits in flood water on a flooded property at Burrowbridge on the Somerset Levels near Bridgwater
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Burrowbridge Devon and Somerset Fire and rescue service evacuate two women and two cats in baskets through flood waters in Burrowbridge
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Moorland A graveyard is seen underwater in the village of Moorland
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Moorland A graveyard is seen underwater in the village of Moorland
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Flooding near Bury A train heads to Pulborough over the Arun flood plain near Bury, England
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Flooding in Twickenham A car is submerged in flood water from the River Thames in Twickenham, south London
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Flooding in Twickenham Flood water from the River Thames covers roads in Twickenham, south London
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Flooding Bristol A cyclist struggles through flood water in Bristol
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Flooding in Bristol River defence barriers are put in place in Bristol after flooding from the River Avon
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset A car drives through flood water on the Somerset Levels near Langport in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Flood water collects in an allotment site near Langport in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Flooded fields surround the River Tone that has burst its banks viewed from Windmill Hill, in Stoke-St-Gregory near Langport in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Trees are reflected in flood waters on the Somerset Levels near Langport in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Farmer Roger Forgan uses a boat to cross farm land in front of his flooded farm which has been cut off by flood waters at Muchelney near Langport in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset A man walks beside the River Tone seen from Windmill Hill, Somerset, as flooding persists on the levels
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Flooded fields around the River Tone seen from Windmill Hill, Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset An electricity survey helicopter flies over flooded farmland surrounding Burrowbridge in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Flooded farmland surrounding Burrowbridge in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in East Sussex Anne Bourmer wades through flood water outside her home in Hooe, East Sussex, as more heavy rain sweeps across the country
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Flood water is pumped into the River Parrott by the Environment Agency in Moorland in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset A flood sign is seen in flood waters surrounding farm buildings in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Debris washed up by flood water is seen at James Winslade's farm in Moorland in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Farmer James Winslade stands in front of bales of animal feed as he surveys some of his 790 acres of flooded land at his farm in Moorland in Somerset, England
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Flood water surrounds a house in the village of Thorney in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset A car is seen submerged on the side of a flooded road leading into the cut-off village of Muchelney in Somerset. A local council declared a major incident on the flood-hit Somerset Levels where some villages like Muchelney have been cut off for weeks by flooding that has submerged roads and thousands of acres of farmland in the area of southwestern England
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset A policeman on a boat looks at a car submerged on the side of a flooded road leading into the cut-off village of Muchelney in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset The village of Muchelney is seen beyond flood water in Somerset
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Residents disembark a boat after being transported from the cut-off village of Muchelney in Somerset on 27 January. A new plan to deal with a flood-hit area of south-west England will be drawn up within six weeks, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson announced as he was confronted by angry residents
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Pipes pump flood water into a river in Burrow Bridge, flood-hit Somerset on 27 January. A local council last week declared a major incident on the flooded Somerset Levels where some villages have been cut off for weeks by water that has submerged roads and thousands of acres of farmland
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Cattle feed in a barn in front of a flooded farm yard in the village of Thorney along the road to Muchelney on 24 January
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Somerset Workers from Pontoonworks build a pontoon along the road leading to the village of Muchelney to help villagers board a boat which has been used for transport along flooded roads on 24 January
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Kent Resident Jeff Hopcroft looks out from his flooded house on January 2, 2014 in Yalding, England
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Kent A resident measures the level of flood water outside his home in Yalding
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Kent A couple in a canoe travel across the flood water near Yalding
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Surrey Flood water from the River Mole rises after recent heavy rain in Leatherhead, England
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Floods in Kent A resident walks through the Little Venice Caravan Park in Yalding, Kent, as flood waters return to the site after recent bad weather
In Pictures: 2014 Winter floods Flooding in Kent Residents Ian Peacock and Caroline Hine leave the Little Venice Caravan Park in a boat after the heavy rains brought back the floods in the area
More than 370 acres of land are still submerged and areas close to Brancaster, Blakeney and Salthouse in north Norfolk, are among the places most likely to be left to the sea. The Agency is talking to landowners about which places can be left unprotected.
Paul Leinster, chief executive of the Environment Agency, told MPs on Thursday: “The question has to be do we reinstate those defences and then allow fresh water habitat to re-establish or do we allow inter-tidal habitat to establish? These are big questions.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies