Flooding in the UK is a threat on the scale of terrorism or an influenza pandemic, according to the author of a report on this summer's floods.

Sir Michael Pitt, Chairman of the South West Strategic Health Authority and head of an independent review of the flooding that devastated much of the country in June and July, said today that he felt "flood risk management should be right up there".

"I think we should put this on a par with the terrorism risk or an influenza pandemic," he said.

The Pitt Review interim report was released this morning and contains 87 recommendations and 15 urgent proposals to prepare Britain to cope better with future flooding.

Sir Michael said this year's flooding was so severe because the ground was already heavily saturated. But he warned that this would only get worse in the future, due to changing weather conditions and more frequent rainfall.

"The changing natures of floods means we need to improve our flood warnings," Sir Michael said. "Flood risk and events of this sort are here to stay,"

The summer floods were a "wake-up call", Sir Michael said. "Despite the impressive efforts of emergency responders, much work needs to be done to avoid emergencies of the scale we witnessed this summer happening again.

“The country was fortunate that the impact was not much more severe.”

The report, which calls on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to establish a national flood emergency framework.

The Environment Agency should carry out frequent and systematic monitoring of ground water levels at times of high risk, and water authorities and local authorities should be involved in flood planning by developing proposals for investment in the drainage network.

The report also stresses the need for the public to prepare themselves. All households should put together a "flood kit" containing important documents such as insurance policies, and equipment such as torches, radios, blankets and first aid kits.

They should stay in close contact with the Environment Agency through Floodline Warnings Direct, a free telephone line that provides flood warnings, so that they are notified as soon as there is a risk of flooding.

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