Storm Christoph: Hundreds evacuated from homes in Manchester
Hundreds of people were told to leave their homes overnight as flooding hit
Last updated 21st Jan 2021
We've got the latest news on the floods as hundreds of people have been told to leave their homes overnight as Storm Christoph hit Manchester.
Some 2,000 properties in the East Didsbury, West Didsbury and Northenden areas of Greater Manchester were due to be evacuated on Wednesday night because of rising water levels, the city council said.
It comes as heavy rain and snow continued to fall across England and Wales, with many rivers at “dangerously high levels”, the Environment Agency said.
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Latest Flood news for Greater Manchester:
We'll add any news on the flooding situation as we get it:
4.58pm
Emergency services are being praised for their response to Storm Christoph and trying to avert disaster.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Tony Hunter, has been updating Hits Radio.
4.33pm
Greater Manchester Police say they are continuing to work hard to keep the public safe from Storm Christoph.
Around 40 officers were in Didsbury - one of the worst-affected areas - overnight to safely evacuate hundreds of residents living near the Didsbury basin to either family members or temporary accommodation arranged by Manchester City Council.
Officers in Trafford also supported colleagues from the fire service to evacuate residents near Bollington Mill which saw severe water-levels and damage to a local power station.
3.28pm
Firefighters in Greater Manchester are urging people to stay vigilant.
More bad weather is forecast including sub-zero temperatures.
1.36pm
More pictures from the scene of a huge sinkhole in Gorton.
A local councillor has suggested more homes are collapsing.
This is the latest statement Manchester Fire and Rescue Service have provided us with:
"Firefighters were called to reports of a collapsed sewer on Walmer Street, in Gorton, at 9pm on Wednesday 20 January.
"One fire engine from Gorton quickly attended the scene. Firefighters assisted colleagues from United Utilities and helped make the scene safe. Four properties were evacuated as a precaution.
"Firefighters were in attendance for around five hours."
1.11pm
Our reporter is at the scene of a sinkhole in Gorton which has pulled the front of two houses off as well as swallowing a car.
It's believed to have been caused by a collapsed sewer on Walmer Street.
Emergency services are at the scene.
12.09pm
Boris Johnson defended the Government's record on funding flood defences and says millions more pounds will be invested in Greater Manchester.
"A huge amount has been done here in Greater Manchester, another #60 million has been put in to protecting the Greater Manchester area,'' he said.
"You can see the defences that we have in place to protect people's homes and people's lives.
"But, be in no doubt, everybody who visits a flood area, anybody who has been through a flood knows the huge psychological, emotional and financial cost of flooding to people.''
A further £20 million will be invested for the Greater Manchester area as part of a £5.2 billion programme of flood defences over the next six years, he said.
12.08pm
Boris Johnson has suggested that a major tree-planting programme could help protect against flooding in the long term.
On a visit to Didsbury, south Manchester, he said: "One idea that everybody in the Environment Agency talks about, and I believe in absolutely passionately, is planting trees on the higher ground to help absorb some of that rainfall, to help mitigate the effects of flooding.
"This Government has a very ambitious tree-planting programme, but, in my view, we're not going fast enough."
12.05pm
Boris Johnson has warned of more bad weather to come whilst visiting parts of Didsbury this morning.
"I think 10,000 homes in the Manchester area, in the Didsbury area, have been protected just as a result of what they have been doing overnight.
"There will be more to come, there will be further rain next week, so it is vital that people who are in potentially affected areas follow the advice and get the Environment Agency flood alerts where they can.''
11.58am
People in #Didsbury who were evacuated because of the flood risk are now being allowed to return to their homes.
Emergency services will remain on alert to monitor water levels.
11.38am
Greater Manchester Police has stood down the major incident response.
"The latest update we have received has suggested that we are past the worst point of potential flooding."
11.36am
It's believed the River Mersey around #Didsbury has peaked and reduced to "more manageable levels."
11.15am
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is arriving in Didsbury to visit the flood basin along the River Mersey.
10.35am
Manchester City Council says river levels in Northenden and Didsbury are believed to have now peaked.
10.31am
Environment Secretary George Eustice said: Water levels in the Didsbury flood base have now started to recede, however water will continue to work through the river systems in the North-West and Yorkshire in the coming days.
More unsettled weather is also expected next week, so we continue to prepare for further impacts.''
9.10am
Parrs Wood High School playing fields are flooded after the River Mersey rose high in Didsbury:
8.52am
A council worker in Didsbury this morning, checking a bridge over the River Mersey for damage after heavy rainfall.
8.50am
"Just pack a carrier bag full of clothes”
Residents in Chorlton were told to leaves their homes in the middle of the night, because of a flood risk from the River Mersey. This man was brought to Wythenshawe Forum from a homeless shelter there.
8.45am
Our reporter for Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio has been to Didsbury Mosque, one of the places which opened it's doors to people last night:
8.39am
Greater Manchester Police are urging us to only go out if it's essential with a risk of ice on the roads:
8.19am
Lee Rawlinson, of the Environment Agency, said that flood basins put in place on the River Mersey in Didsbury had “served their purpose” overnight and kept properties in the area dry.
“At Didsbury, the River Mersey got to very high levels very quickly, the water was pouring through there,”
“What we did as an organisation, we have a couple of flood basins that we employed there, that they took the water away. It took the peak of the water off.
In an interview with BBC Breakfast he said “The top of the river came within centimetres of the top of the river bank but our defences there have served their purpose and kept those properties dry.
“But it was very close.”
7.30am
Some 2,000 properties in the East Didsbury, West Didsbury and Northenden areas of Greater Manchester were due to be evacuated because of rising water levels.
7.25am
Northern warned its customers not to travel on many of its routes in the north-west of England because of increasingly poor conditions following torrential rain across the region.
Routes covering north of Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria are affected by a “do not travel” alert, as a number of routes have experienced issues with flooding, and several have seen closures and significant disruption, Northern said.
Many routes south of Manchester are still currently expected to run with some exceptions.
Anyone who needs to make essential journeys on Thursday should allow extra time for travel and to check carefully before setting off as the situation evolves.
Flood waters are also affected roads across the region meaning the provision of rail replacement transport is also challenging.
7.18am
Bolton has had the most rainfall in the UK.
Met forecaster John Griffiths said Aberllefenni in Wales had seen the UK’s highest amount of rainfall from Storm Christoph, with 187.8mm dumped over the last 56 hours.
He added Bolton in Greater Manchester recorded the highest rainfall in England at 150.4mm over the same amount of time – more than the region’s average for the entire month of January.
Mr Griffiths said although flooding was going to be an “ongoing issue” for the UK over the next few days, it was “generally an improving picture”.