Authorities in flood-stricken areas are struggling to cope with the biggest public health crisis for decades. Thousands of people have been made effectively homeless by the flooding, and more than 350,000 will have to rely on bottled water for everything from cooking to washing for up to two weeks.

An urgent appeal has been made for portable lavatories as fears about sewage treatment and contamination grow. Engineers gained full access to the Mythe water treatment plants near Tewkesbury yesterday but have yet to assess the full extent of the damage.

The western side of Oxford was engulfed in water yesterday after tributaries to the Thames burst their banks. At least 150 people have been moved from their homes to an emergency shelter at Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium.

Three severe flood warnings, two in Oxford and one in nearby Abingdon, remained in place last night. The Environment Agency said that flooding was also expected in the Thameside towns of Wallingford and Henley.

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BACKGROUND

• Water company ‘cleans up’ as customers clear up

• How to clean up after your home has flooded

• A disaster with mankind's footprints stamped on it

Related Internet Links

• The Times forecast

• Government flood warnings

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• Long history of fighting the Thames tides

• On the night watch waiting for water to rise

• Dairy farmers in race for water

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• Pictures: 2007 floods

Elsewhere, the clear-up operation has been hampered because staff have been forced to evacuate the offices of Gloucester City Council and Gloucestershire County Council.

All calls to the councils and an emergency line are being handled by Wychavon District Council near Pershore in Worcestershire.

Marcus Grodentz, spokesman for Gloucester City Council, said that only 20 to 30 of the authority’s 300 employees had been able to get into the office because it was unable to offer normal facilities. Council staff have instead helped to distribute nearly four million bottles of water.

Mr Grodentz said: “This is the biggest peacetime problem since the war. It is completely unprecedented. No one has dealt with anything on this scale before.”

Gloucestershire County Council said that it urgently needed more lavatories for emergency workers and vulnerable people trapped in care and residential homes. Anyone with access to toilets was asked to contact the council immediately.

Severn Trent Water has installed 926 water bowsers – mobile tanks – around the county but many residents complained that they were being emptied as fast as they were filled.

Long queues built up at water distribution points. Police officers had to intervene to prevent trouble on several occasions. A spokesman for Severn Trent Water said: “We have had a report of someone filling 40 bottles from a bowser, which is very irresponsible, but generally people have been sensible.”

The Red Cross has been distributing hygiene kits containing toiletries, sanitary items and bottled water. Carol McKay, of the Red Cross, said: “We are still caring for many elderly people here, some of whom are confused and profoundly unsettled.”

Shops and businesses in Gloucester, and its neighbouring towns of Cheltenham and Tewkesbury, are likely to remain closed until water supplies have been restored. Residents hoping to avoid wasting water on washing-up by eating out have found restaurants and pubs closed as staff are unable to meet basic hygiene standards.

A notice in the window of McDonald’s in Cheltenham read: “Customer Apology. Unfortunately we are unable to open today. Due to the lack of water we are unable to wash our hands and sanitise effectively.” In Tesco a sign saying “two loaves per customer” was displayed above empty shelves.

The owners of the Parrot pub in Cheltenham said that they had secured the last two portable lavatories available in the Midlands. John Hill said: “I went to bed on Sunday night thinking this could finish us but now we’ve come out fighting. The £260 I spent on the portable loos may be the best investment I’ve ever made.”

Sophie Powell, who commutes into Cheltenham from Worcester, has been bringing emergency supplies of baby milk and nappies after local shops were stripped by panic buying. She said: “People are really worried.”

Supplies of disinfectant and bleach had sold out at many supermarkets in the counties worst hit by the floods.

In Gloucester and Worcestershire much of the receding floodwaters were found to have maggots and worms in them. Farm waste, animal carcasses and human waste from drains were also found in the water.

The clean-up operation was being hampered by those coming into contact with the water being unable to wash themselves properly because water supplies remained cut off.

Andy Evans, 25, has been relying on surgical alcohol to ensure that the contaminated water at his Gloucestershire home does not infect him. “The water smells and we are obviously worried that the water is contaminated,” he said. “It’s a dark brown and a lot of it has come up from the drains. It’s bound to have human waste in it.

“Any part of our bodies that comes into contact with the water we wash with the gel. We have bought disinfectant wipes, but the supermarkets and pharmacists have sold out now.” Mr Evans has lived on Alney Island, a community in the heart of Gloucester city circled by the River Severn, all his life. Despite his home being raised up to prevent flooding, the water has reached the bottom step of stairs leading to his upstairs rooms.

Anthony Dallimore, of the Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust, said that GPs had been asked to report any outbreaks of diarrhoea or gastric infections.

Some health experts gave warning that the most serious long-term consequences could be psychological. The Health Protection Agency said: “The biggest risk is overwhelmingly from mental stress. It is very physically and emotionally draining to deal with.”

Mary Dhonau, co-ordinator of a support network for flood victims, said: “It is a soul-destroying experience returning to your home to find everything you have worked so hard for ruined. A lifetime of memories left in a sodden puddle.”

Fewer properties were damaged by flooding in Hull than was first estimated, its city council said. Initial estimates said that 16,000 homes were affected by the floods last month. But that figure has now been revised to about 6,500. Carl Minns, the leader of the council, had said that the cost of the damage could be as much as £200 million and criticised a lack of attention, saying: “We are the forgotten city in this disaster.” The original figure was based on the number of properties in flooded streets. But it was revised down when surveyors went to see which had been affected.

Kim Ryley, the council’s chief executive, tells a BBC programme that the council made cutbacks on gully cleaning and repairs but he says he does not believe that this was a major factor. He tells A Forgotten City, to be shown in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire: “The speed and extent of the rainfall simply overwhelmed the systems.”