Flood warnings continue as towns begin clear-up after record storm surge

A rescue team helps a woman through flood waters in Boston on Thursday night. Early flood warnings across the UK have been credited with saving lives. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

People living in areas vulnerable to flooding were on Friday urged to be extremely cautious over the weekend despite a weakening in the sea surge that threatened havoc along eastern coastlines over Thursday night.

As towns began clearing up after high tides flooded homes and other buildings, ministers warned the crisis was not over and the Environment Agency told people to continue taking extra care.

By mid-afternoon on Friday about 1,400 properties were thought to have been flooded by record tides and about 15,000 people evacuated the previous night returned to their homes and businesses to review the damage.

Flood defences, said to have protected about 800,000 properties, and flood warnings were credited with saving lives by authorities. Owen Paterson, the environment secretary, said there will still be extremely high tides on Saturday. "I would urge everybody to pay very close attention to advice from the Environment Agency and also to follow instructions from the police, local government and emergency services."

The Met Office, while warning the country was "not out of the woods", said the worst of the weather was over.

Tides at the Thames Barrier, which was closed on Thursday and Friday, were the highest since it became fully operational in 1984. The tide at Dover was 4.7 metres above average sea levels, the highest since 1905, and at Hull 5.8 metres, the highest level since records began more than 150 years ago.

Although the flooding was not as bad as expected, road and rail travel was disrupted and in some areas, such as Boston in Lincolnshire, schools were closed.

Many people, however, were still counting the cost of Thursday's storm surges. In Boston, Daniel Philpott, owner of the Britannia pub, looked exhausted as he surveyed fridges, freezers and sodden carpet. Thousands of pounds worth of contaminated stock had been cleared.

"About 7 o'clock [on Thursday], water was coming through the garden, through the kitchen, and into the pub. We set up boards and tried to barricade it, but the water was coming, we had to evacuate."

When he came back to the kitchen, he found crockery floating around as if it were in a swimming pool.

With no heating or electricity on Friday, the pub had a fire burning, and was filled with a smoky air as staff tried to clean off the grills, determined to get in order in time to open that night. "I'll need a drink by then," Philpott said.

A few doors down, the carpets were sodden in the office of Julie Collishaw. An accountant with a mountain of tax returns to do, this is her busiest time of year, but half her filing cabinets were standing open as she tried to dry her papers out.

"Everything is wet," she said. "These are all my records, it's going to be an interesting job to tidy up. But it is what it is. You can't fight water, not that amount of water. I don't think there's anything anyone could do. You just have to take it one step at a time."

Surveying the damage, one landlady said: "I don't know where you start."

Humberside police praised those living along the east Yorkshire coast and Humber estuary. Stuart Donald, assistant chief constable, said he had been delighted with the way agencies and the public had responded to the crisis, at the height of which there were 16 severe flood warnings indicating danger to life in that area alone. Humberside fire and rescue service said it had rescued 181 people as it dealt with 186 flooding incidents.

In Norfolk, police said: "There is still a potential for normal winter flooding to affect certain areas and in particular the Broads river system. Some flood defences are described as 'battered and bruised' with agencies assessing the need to repair any potential damage over the coming days."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said two women, two young babies in pushchairs and a dog had been rescued after being hit by a large wave at Louisa Bay in Broadstairs, Kent.

About 250 seal pups were reported to be missing from a breeding ground at Horsey, Norfolk. The volunteer group monitoring them said 177 pups were counted after a second tidal surge on Friday afternoon. Earlier in the day 440 were counted on the beach where grey seals come ashore each winter.

Late on Friday afternoon, a dozen severe flood warnings remained in force, along with 63 flood warnings and 38 less serious flood alerts.