Residents of Cumbria in Britain have begun taking stock of the damage wreaked by floodwaters, as experts carry out an urgent safety review of the county's 1,800 bridges.
Amateur video footage posted on YouTube of the collapse of the Camerton bridge over the River Derwent shows the damaging effect of rainfall, which experts said on Friday was the highest ever recorded in Britain.
In Workington, the Calva Bridge has been closed. Experts fear it will soon be swept way. (They say a sheer crack in the central arch has grown overnight and the deck of the bridge has sunk more than a foot.)
This and Friday's collapse of the Northside bridge has cut off the town, forcing residents to make lengthy detours:
Resident Anne McLoughlan said she feels very isolated: "There are no doctors facilities on this side of the river. They would have to come a long way around if we needed anyone in an emergency."
"I know we've got some good first responders in the village, some local people who go around and help people in distress. So they're in the village," she added.
The Environment Agency said even though conditions were improving, river levels across the region were expected to remain high for the next few days. And meteorologists say more heavy rain is on its way.
Engineer Andrew Butler of Cumbria County Council said: "I've had experience of these events in other parts of the country in the past but I have never seen anything as serious as this. It is quite staggering."
Churches across Cumbria prayed for the flood victims, in particular for the family and friends of PC Bill Barker, killed when the Northside bridge collapsed.
In Cockermouth on Sunday (November 22) the centre of the town was still cordoned off as surveyors, engineers and electricity workers began work to allow the clean-up effort to start.
Ironically it was the day the Christmas lights should have been switched on.
Police said a total of 16 bridges and at least 25 roads were closed in Cumbria. About 60 people were still sheltering in the two main reception centres.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged an extra 1 million pounds of Government money to help flood victims.
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