Severe flooding in north-west England as 'major incident' declared after huge downpour

1 January 2025, 13:54 | Updated: 1 January 2025, 14:00

Parts of north-west England and northern Wales have seen severe flooding after heavy downpours, with local officials declaring a "major incident".

The North West and Wales have seen heavy rain for much of the morning on Wednesday, which comes after the Met Office said some parts of the North West saw almost a month's worth of rain within 48 hours.

More than 120 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, are in place for England, 11 for Wales and 21 for Scotland.

Greater Manchester Police said the worst affected areas were Bolton, Didsbury, Harpurhey, Stalybridge, Stockport and Wigan.

Mountain rescue teams have been deployed to help Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service deal with damaged properties and stranded vehicles.

Read more: Three-day snow warning for almost all of England and Wales this weekend as Brits also battered by wind and rain

Read more: Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations cancelled as high winds set to sweep UK

One woman shared a video of a large flooded car park outside her block of flats in Stockport, saying that local emergency services were handing out bottles of water, and telling followers her car had been written off.

GMP's chief superintendent Colette Rose said: "Following events overnight a major incident has been declared. This is to ensure we can continue to keep people safe through a co-ordinated effort from our collective emergency services, supported by key partner agencies.

"Anyone affected should check the relevant detail being shared by their local council, the fire service and Transport for Greater Manchester to ensure they can get the support available, which include any road closures and information centres for those displaced. It is advised to travel if it is only necessary and to take care if out and about.

"Our officers with the fire service are in the key locations and can be spoken to if you need anything urgently, as we understand the distress those affected will be faced with as we begin 2025.

"It will be a continued team effort as we monitor how the weather and water levels progress throughout today."

Honister Pass in Cumbria saw nearly 6in (150mm) of rain, while Rochdale in Greater Manchester had 3in (77mm).

Ben Lukey, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said "significant inland flooding" is possible after "heavy and persistent rain" and river levels will remain high across parts of the north of England until Thursday.

He said: "Environment Agency teams will be out on the ground, operating flood defences, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding, issuing flood warnings and supporting those communities affected.

"We advise anyone travelling or out celebrating the New Year to be especially careful and urge people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car."

A number of train routes have been disrupted or blocked by flooding, mainly in the North West of England, with some Northern services, TransPennine Express services, Transport for Wales services, and South Western Railway services affected.

National Highways has listed road closures including a section of the A628 Woodhead Pass between Woolley Bridge and Flouch, the westbound M56 between Junction 6 for Manchester Airport and Junction 8 for Bowdon and the M57 in Merseyside between Junction 6 for Kirkby and Junction 7 for Switch Island, Aintree.

Later in the week, a three-day snow warning has been issued for much of England and Wales this weekend.