A major clean-up operation is under way after hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes due to flooding across north-west England.
Torrential rain began on New Years’ Eve and left huge areas of Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire flooded.
Greater Manchester Police, which declared a major incident, said it had been a time of “disruption and distress” and officers were supporting displaced residents.
Twenty flood warnings remain in place across the North West, along with new snow and ice alerts.
Evacuation centres have opened in Wigan, Stockport and in Ormskirk, Lancashire, to support those who had to leave their homes.
Four hundred residents had to be evacuated from flats at Meadow Mill in Stockport after water flooded the car park and lower floors. The rescue operation lasted 12 hours.
Despite the water now subsiding, people said they had been told they may not be allowed to return to their properties until Friday due to the clean-up work and power being restored to the building.
Five hundred residents also had to be evacuated from the Britannia Hotel in West Didsbury.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said they evacuated 115 flats at Meadow Hill.
Steve Twinn of GMFRS said: “Hopefully between the building owner and the local authority they can start to manage people, eventually back into the premises, although we do know that could be probably a minimum of 24, if not 48 hours”.
The Environment Agency said river levels would remain high across parts of the region today and were urging people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water.
Several roads remain closed across the region, including in the Platt Bridge and Ashton areas of Wigan, Rainford and Parbold in Lancashire and Northwich, Warrington and in Cheshire.
National Highways said the westbound carriageway of the M56 between junctions 6 and 7 had now reopened after being closed due to a collapsed aqueduct at the Bridgewater Canal.
Diane Taylor, a narrowboat owner, told the BBC that she usually travelled along canals in the North West every two to three days but because of the flooding, it had prevented them from being able to move.
She said: “Personally, I think we might be stuck here for months.”
Some train and bus services are being cancelled or subject to delays.
Northern said it had cancelled or altered services between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield and New Mills Central due to severe flooding.
The Bee Network said tram and train services had largely been restored but ice was now causing delays and cancellations on some of its services on the Manchester Airport line and at Cornbrook.
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