Hundreds rescued as major flooding incident declared

THOUSANDS OF HOMES WITHOUT POWER AS RESCUERS USE BOATS TO TAKE PEOPLE TO SAFETY FROM RISING WATERS

-  JAMES HOLT, LIV CLARKE, NEAL KEELING, TOM BURNETT & CHRIS SLATER

AT least 1,300 people have been evacuated following severe flooding across Greater Manchester on New Year's Day.

A major incident was declared after heavy rainfall which began on New Year's Eve caused havoc.

Roads became submerged as car parks and shops were flooded.

Homes and hotels were evacuated with many residents across the region unable to return to their homes as emergency services worked tirelessly in the worst-hit areas of Didsbury, Trafford, Stockport and Wigan.

Hundreds of people were rescued by emergency crews on boats.

Electricity North West estimated about 2,800 properties were last night experiencing power outages across the north west, with the "vast majority" of those in Greater Manchester.

Some 400 people were evacuated from apartments in Stockport, at least 500 were rescued from a migrant hotel in south Manchester and 400 others saved in the Didsbury area.

Police, alongside paramedics, the fire service, mountain rescue teams, local councils and TfGM co-ordinated multi-agency responses to the severe flooding across the region.

Police said that no serious injuries had so far been reported.

A major incident was declared by emergency services yesterday morning. Police said that Bolton, Didsbury, Harpurhey, Stalybridge, Stockport and Wigan were the areas which had seen the greatest impact.

Trafford began experiencing issues later in the day in the area of Bowden due to an aqueduct bursting In Didsbury, the River Mersey partially burst its banks.

About 400 private homes were evacuated, with around 500 rescued from the Britannia Country Park Hotel, which houses asylum seekers.

Videos and pictures taken from the south Manchester suburb last night showed a huge emergency response, including fire crews, water rescue units, incident response teams, police and paramedics and mountain rescue teams all in attendance.

In flooded Palatine Road, fire crews rescued people by boat.