People flee widespread flooding in North England
Hundreds of people from towns across Northern England have fled their homes following torrential rains and heavy flooding.
Heavy downpours and ensuing flooding forced people from their homes in towns across Lancashire and West Yorkshire, as dangerously high waters even reached the cities of Manchester and Leeds, according to the Guardian.
The UK Met Office issued two of its most serious, red weather warnings – indicating a danger to life for the area and warned that up to five inches of rain could fall over the weekend.
Also, the Environment Agency (EA) issued 31 severe flood warnings which signal danger to life as well as hundreds of standard flood warnings which mean that immediate action is required.
Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to chair a conference call of the government’s emergency Cobra committee on Sunday. “My thoughts are with people whose homes have been flooded,” he said in a statement.
In Leeds, a severe flood warning was put in place for the city center, with the river Aire expected to reach a record peak on Saturday night. The EA said it was due to “significant impacts to infrastructure and risk to life in the area.”
Police advised between 300 and 400 people to evacuate in York by the rivers Ouse and Foss. The Environment Agency said pumps in the Foss barrier were at risk of electrical failure due to water entering the building and a decision had been taken to lift the barrier.
York city council said an emergency meeting had been held and the river Ouse was expected to peak meters above normal summer levels on Monday afternoon.
The Met Office said the worst-hit areas would see very little rain on Sunday.
Locals described some of the flooding as the most severe they had ever seen. One of the worst-affected towns was Whalley, in east Lancashire. It was flooded two weeks ago but was completely swamped when the river Calder burst its banks. Residents were evacuated by rescue boats.
At the same time, more than 10,000 homes in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, and Lancashire lost their electricity supply after flood waters surged into a local substation.
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