Forecasters have warned of another week of storms as the Prime Minister prepares to lead the latest emergency meeting about the flooding crisis.
Heavy rain and winds of more than 60mph will die down throughout today but the brief respite will be broken by another storm arriving tomorrow night.
And more storms will continue to batter Britain until the weekend, weather forecasters MeteoGroup predicted.
Two severe flood warnings remain place in the crisis-hit Somerset Levels - where many residents have already been forced from their homes after weeks of heavy rain – while the Environment Agency has issued a third in the coastal village of Chiswell in Dorest.
The authorities are being assisted by the armed forces to shore up sea defences in the village which were damaged in last week's storms.
There are nearly 300 low-level flood alerts and almost 200 medium-risk flood warnings in place across the South West, Wales and central England, while several hundred homes in Dorset, Surrey and Cornwall were without power.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles chaired another meeting of the Cobra emergency committee last night but the Prime Minister will chair the meeting today.
Earlier this week David Cameron promised to do "everything he can" to help the flood-stricken communities.
Mr Pickles took a fresh swipe at Environment Agency chief Lord Smith for his refusal to apologise to flood-hit victims.
"It's not a sign of weakness," he told the Mail on Sunday.
"A bit of reaching out and humanity and humility is good for everybody, whether a distinguished quangocrat or a member of the Cabinet."
On whether Lord Smith should quit, he told the newspaper: "He has to make his own decision."
But in an indication of his own position, he added: "I don't see myself becoming the advocate of the 'Save Chris Smith' campaign or printing 'Save The Environment Agency One' T-shirts.
"It's always good to get feedback from your customers. At least he'll never have to hire a focus group to know what people are thinking," he joked about Lord Smith's hostile reception from locals.
Mr Pickles said the agency had "become riddled with political correctness" which had led it to halt vital drainage work such as dredging rivers.
"It worries me that in a politically-correct attempt to be more environmentally sound than the next person, something as basic as this has been forgotten," he said.
"The people on the ground have done a fantastic job, but the agency has lost its way and become riddled with political correctness."
There needed to be more public clarity about where agency money was spent, he suggested.
The Met Office warned that river levels are expected to continue rising along the Thames, the Severn and the Dorset Stour this week.
England has faced the wettest January since 1766, and with the ground already saturated, further rainfall is increasing flood risk across the country, especially in the south.
Since before Christmas around 5,000 properties have been affected by flooding across the country, including 40 in Somerset.
Paul Gundersen, Met Office chief meteorologist, said: "We have another Atlantic storm bringing gales and heavy downpours to many parts of the UK this weekend.
"Monday is expected to bring a brief respite from the stormy conditions before more strong winds and rain set in from the west on Tuesday.
"This will bring the continuing risk of flooding and damaging winds bringing down trees to cause disruption to travel and power networks."
The Ministry of Defence has put 1,600 personnel on six hours notice to help in the south of the country if needed, the Government said.
EA staff have been out in force across England to try to stop more people falling victim to the storms by installing flood defences, repairing damaged coastal defences, deploying sandbags and clearing river blockages.
