London ( CNN ) -- After violent December storms put a damper on many people 's holiday season , this January was the wettest on record for parts of England . Met Office figures for January 1-28 show that southeast and central southern England had more than twice the usual amount of rain . A whopping 175.2 millimeters ( nearly 7 inches ) of rain fell in that period -- easily submerging the previous record of 158.2 millimeters , set in January 1988 . Final figures for the month have not yet been released , but the totals are expected to go up , since the rain has kept on coming down in many areas . Meanwhile , southwest England and south Wales had their fifth wettest January since records began in 1910 , according to the Met Office , and some areas have suffered dire flooding . The torrential rain has left villages on the Somerset Levels , a low-lying area of southwest England , under water for almost a month . The situation is so bad that the government 's emergency committee , known as Cobra , has met to discuss what to do . Cameron : 'Not acceptable ' British Prime Minister David Cameron acknowledged Friday in a piece written for the Western Daily Press , a newspaper published in southwest England , that the government had been slow to act . `` Like everybody across the country I feel enormous sympathy for the people who live on the Somerset Levels and are suffering from the devastating impact of the flooding , '' he wrote . `` I know that a great deal of work has been done to try and alleviate the situation but it is not acceptable for people to have to live like this almost four weeks later -- and I am not ruling out any option to get this problem sorted out . '' Military planners have been sent in to work with local authorities , he said , and a 24-hour pumping operation is now running to try to drain off the excess water from the Somerset Levels . Local residents have complained that the Environment Agency has neglected to dredge rivers over past years , exacerbating the risk of flooding . But the Environment Agency said in an online statement Tuesday that `` increased dredging of rivers on the Somerset Levels would not have prevented the recent widespread flooding because of the sheer volume of rainfall . '' As many as 40 homes and 65 square kilometers of land ( 25 square miles ) are flooded , the agency said . Local and national newspapers have shown dramatic images of inundated homes , submerged fields and impassable roads , with some residents -- and emergency responders -- forced to use boats to get around . Flood warnings , flights affected . The sodden month of January may now be over , but the bad weather persists this weekend . The Environment Agency has warned that high tides and gale force winds could bring more flooding in some coastal areas , and nine severe flood warnings are in place . At the same time , continued rain may cause river flooding in parts of southern England where the ground is saturated and water levels are already high , the agency said . Stormy , gale force winds in Ireland have also affected some flights at Dublin Airport . Passengers are advised to check their flight status before traveling , the airport said Saturday . The Irish Met Office warned that coastal flooding is also likely Saturday for coastal counties in the country 's west and south , thanks to the high winds , extremely high seas and very high spring tides . CNN 's Per Nyberg contributed to this report .
Southeast and central southern England had more than twice the usual rainfall in nearly a month . Rainfall there in the first 28 days of January was the highest since records began in the first 28 days of January . Parts of southwest England have been under water for the first 28 days of January . The bad weather continues , with a number of flood warnings issued 1910 .