FLOOD defences along East Yorkshire's coast have been damaged by the worst tidal surge in 60 years. Environment Agency staff are working to repair the damage at Hessle, Paull and Skeffling in Holderness after Thursday's surge.
Around 200 homes and businesses were flooding when the Humber burst its banks, flooding as far inland as Hull city centre.
Innes Thomson, the Environment Agency's flood and coastal risk manager for Yorkshire, said: "There has been some localised damage to some of the defences.
"There has been some further down the coast beyond Sunk Island, a little bit at Hessle, where a small amount of embankment was washed away and damage around Paull.
"We are now looking at all our flood defences, which have been challenged by this high tide, to assess the condition of them to make sure they would be ready to do the job again."
Hessle Foreshore and the village of Paull were among the worst-affected areas.
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson visited Hull on Saturday to view the city's tidal barrier, which protected 19,000 homes from a 5.8m wall of water.
He said the barrier undoubtedly saved thousands more.
"For those that have been affected, it is shocking and terrible," he said.
"I am desperately sorry for those people in that dreadful situation
"However, thousands of properties have not flooded, which shows the value of flood defences.
"The tidal barrier has saved a dramatic number of properties from flooding in the centre of Hull. It would have been absolutely devastating if we didn't have it. I would also like to thank and congratulate the Environment Agency and other public services, who reacted very quickly in these exceptional circumstances."
Mr Thomson said Environment Agency staff were shocked by how far the water travelled into Hull and the East Riding.
"We didn't expect it to come into Hull at all," he said.
"It was a very apprehensive time. We were worried what the consequences might be, given the severity of what was happening.
"The land is flat as a pancake and, if the water wasn't stopped, it could go all the way to Beverley. That is the challenge we have in this area and why we have to stop it at the tidal barrier.
"We were very disciplined though and did everything we could to warn people that there was something quite big happening here."
Mr Paterson said the Government's pledge last year to invest £2.3bn into flood defences could help East Yorkshire.
"There is more money for defences," he said.
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