Moorland, England (CNN) -- Like a modern-day King Canute, Sam Notaro is determined not to let rising waters flood his home. He lives in Moorland village in Somerset, southwest England, which has been hit hard by weeks of flooding. Streets have turned into rivers, cars are submerged up to their windshields, and homes have been abandoned. But Notaro is a lone holdout. He's created his own flood defense barrier, using a digger to raise a soil embankment topped with heavy clay to act as a seal. So far, it has kept the worst of the waters out of his home, with the help of pumps -- but the question is how long it will hold.
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NEW: Irish province faces gale-force winds with gusts up to 105 mph, forecasters say
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NEW: More than 1,100 homes to west of London flood after the River Thames burst its banks
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UK weather service issues warning for high winds in western England and Wales
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Parts of northwest France are also facing the risk of flooding
Some 5,800 properties have flooded in @placeholder since the beginning of December.