Clean-Up Underway Amid Ongoing Alert Signs

A significant clean-up effort is currently underway after numerous individuals were displaced from their residences due to flooding throughout north-west England.

The torrential downpour that began on New Year’s Eve has left expansive areas of Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Cheshire under water.

Greater Manchester Police, which announced a major incident, noted that this period was marked by “disturbance and distress,” with officers assisting affected residents.

Currently, there are twenty flood alerts in effect across the North West, in addition to new warnings about snow and ice.

Evacuation centers have been set up in Wigan, Stockport, and Ormskirk, Lancashire, to assist those who had to vacate their residences.

Four hundred inhabitants were compelled to leave their homes in flats at Meadow Mill in Stockport after the car park and lower levels were flooded. The rescue endeavor lasted 12 hours.

Although the waters are receding now, individuals reported that they were informed they might not be able to return to their properties until Friday because of the ongoing clean-up and restoration of power to the building.

The Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) reported that they evacuated 115 apartments at Meadow Hill.

Steve Twinn of GMFRS stated: “We hope that between the building owner and the local council, they can begin to facilitate the gradual return of residents to the buildings, although we acknowledge this may be a minimum of 24, if not 48 hours”.

Five hundred residents were also evacuated from the Britannia Hotel in West Didsbury.

The Environment Agency indicated that river levels would remain elevated in parts of the region today and advised individuals to avoid swollen rivers and refrain from driving through floodwaters.

Numerous roads continue to be closed throughout the region, including in Platt Bridge and Ashton areas of Wigan, Rainford and Parbold in Lancashire, as well as Northwich, Warrington, and in Cheshire.

National Highways reported that the westbound lane of the M56 between junctions 6 and 7 has reopened after being closed due to a collapsed aqueduct at the Bridgewater Canal.

Diane Taylor, a narrowboat owner presently docked on the Bridgewater Canal at Dunham Massey in Cheshire, informed the BBC that she typically navigates the canals in the North West every two to three days, but flooding has hindered their movement.

She expressed: “Honestly, I believe we may be stuck here for months.”

Gabrielle Dainty, a resident of Lymm, in Warrington, informed the Today programme that her house experienced flooding on New Year’s Eve as the “bell tolled”.

She mentioned: “It was quite unanticipated.

“We encountered flooding shortly after Storm Christoph and we were aware of that and were ready, though we had never faced flooding before but were prepared.

“This year, there was no time; it all happened swiftly within hours.”

She reported that the road was inundated and residents dedicated some time to unblocking drains and restoring movement but “eventually, we had to retreat inside and safeguard our belongings.”

Ms Dainty stated that she was presently residing upstairs in her residence due to a lack of assistance from the council or rental agencies, as their property belongs to HS2.

Local residents mentioned that after Storm Christoph, flood defenses were positioned at the entrances, but this time, Ms Dainty indicated that the water infiltrated from the ground, rendering the defenses “ineffective”.

Professor Steven Broomhead, chief executive of Warrington Borough Council, stated that the council was not “delayed in the initiation” of recovery and cleanup efforts.

“We have dedicated the past 24 hours entirely to assisting individuals and businesses and preventing risks to life,” he remarked on the Today programme.

“We have evacuated 140 individuals and 35 pets to two rest centers, and our attention is now directed towards the recovery situation, further complicated by current deteriorating weather with icy conditions.”

He added that the council and emergency personnel had exerted significant effort to handle the circumstances in Warrington, which was “completely unforeseen”.

Several train and bus services are either cancelled or experiencing delays.

Northern reported that it had cancelled or modified services between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield and New Mills Central because of extreme flooding.

The Bee Network stated that tram and train services had largely been reinstated, but ice was currently causing delays and cancellations on some of its services on the Manchester Airport line and at Cornbrook.

Approximately 3.5in (90mm) of precipitation has fallen extensively across north-west England over the last 24 hours, with over 3.9in recorded on some hills in north Wales and Cumbria.

Floodwaters have begun to recede, but a new weather alert for ice is anticipated.

The Met Office forecasted around 5cm of snow across northern England over the weekend.