Government ministers are under attack from MPs who believe they are failing to address the threat of further floods.
The warning comes in a report which claims that flood defences are getting worse because of a lack of investment and that the country is still without a proper plan for dealing with future damage.
A cross-party group of MPs also accuses the Government of leaving vulnerable communities at the mercy of a short-term approach to climate change.
The parliamentary Environmental Audit committee says there is a lack of long-term planning with spending on defences fluctuating from year-to-year.
Its chairwoman Mary Creagh said: "Flooding is the greatest risk that the UK faces from climate change.
"Our committee was concerned to see that the Government approach to funding is stop-start.
"That leads to inefficient flood defences, it means that the state of the flood defences we already have can fall into disrepair and that presents an unacceptable risk for flood-prone communities.
"For people living in flood risk areas this is a matter of life and limb."
The committee says the Government is reacting to events rather than preparing for them properly - and believes local authorities are not receiving the support they need to help soften the impact of flooding.
The findings have been supported by property and business owners affected by the winter floods that resulted in a £1.3bn bill.
Sue Procter, who lost £50,000 worth of stock from her garden centre at Read near Clitheroe in Lancashire, told Sky News: "I stood there and thought we are finished. I've no more money to put into this place, everything was in."
Mrs Procter said she had been offered a £9,000 grant towards flood defences on the river running alongside her business but had also received a building quote of £20,000 which she could not afford to pay.
She says short-term Government fixes are no longer the answer.
"They (the Government) should have a long-term plan.
"It is no good showing up when everybody is flooded and we are all in need ... because further down the line we have not got anything.
"We can't even get insurance."
Peter Box, environment spokesman for the Local Government Association, said that councils were doing all they could to protect communities and reduce the risks of flooding.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "Our six-year capital investment programme for flood defences will bring an end to year-on-year fluctuations in spending so communities can have certainty in future funding.
"Our National Flood Resilience Review will be published shortly, delivering immediate actions to better-protect communities ahead of this winter.
"This will be followed by our 25-year environment plan later this year setting out a new approach to managing our rivers across whole catchments, keeping homes, businesses and infrastructure safer from flooding."
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