PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) pegged loses at $1.5 billion in its initial analysis of the devastation wreaked by floods in the UK.
Yorkshire and Lancashire were still flooded on Monday morning, water levels reaching its peak, even as PwC conducted an initial analysis revealing that the insurance and reinsurance industry could end up paying $1.5 billion for the losses.
3,500 properties are at risk in the two cities, where 500 troops have been deployed to deal with the "unprecedented" disaster on Monday.
"We have to say that we are still in the middle of a major incident, though tentative positive news is that the river may now have stopped rising at this point," said Charlie Croft, from York City Council.
York, Leeds and Manchester, all metropolitan cities, along with neighbouring towns and villages have been inundated since Storm Eva struck on 25 December, reports The Guardian.
Thousands have been evacuated from the areas since the warnings were issued.
Yellow (be aware) and Amber (be prepared) level warnings have been issued in northern England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Scotland, reports BBC.
The severe weather first started wrecking havoc during the first week of December in Cumbria and northwestern UK, when Storm Desmond began flooding. Analysis of the losses in Cumbria are still underway.
On Christmas day, 100 flood warnings were issued in parts of England and Wales, as Storm Eva brought torrential rains.
UK's Environment Secretary Liz Truss said that the flood defences would be reviewed keeping the present critical conditions in mind.
"It's just obvious that the scale of flooding events over the last 10 years has been dramatically greater than anything we've had before, and without getting into an argument, even if you put the most generous interpretation on what the government is doing, the level of flood resilience funding hasn't increased to match that.
"One of the big questions we will be asking is what the most effective response is. We're pretty clear it needs to be about the whole system. There is still a case for major flood defence schemes, but we also want to look at land management and drainage as well. Calderdale needs a comprehensive solution," The Guardian quoted Calderdale (a borough in York) council leader Tim Swift.
