Suddenly, serious and without warning: residents asked questions after devastating floods

Residents across Greater Manchester have said they have no time to prepare as devastating floods hit the area.

Just hours after Manchester welcomed the New Year, parts of the region were submerged by rapidly rising waters.

After torrential rain in the northwest, Greater Manchester woke up on New Year’s Day to scenes unlike anything residents said they had ever seen before. More than 1,300 people were forced to evacuate their homes and hotels, and vehicles and properties were severely damaged.

This part of the country is no stranger to flooding or heavy rain: huge floods in 2021 and 2015 also led to the evacuation of people from their homes and huge damage to public infrastructure.

But this time some south Manchester residents say they are worried the floodgates will not be opened before it is too late. Those in Didsbury, StockportAnd Trafford were particularly hard hit after the River Mersey flooded early on New Year’s Day morning. The Environment Agency insisted its assets were working as required.

In a kennel Urmston where about 25 dogs resided, the owners told the MEN that they only received notification of flooding around 9 a.m., 45 minutes after the worst flooding began.

Naomi Ewen and Mike Sutherland, who run Manchester Boarding Kennels at Willow Farm, said they had received “no warning” of the disastrous flooding from the Environment Agency. As a result, the couple were unable to save all the puppies and four of them sadly died.

“There is normally a weather report “We were on alert, but we didn’t get one until four hours after the flood,” Naomi said. “Between 7 a.m. and a quarter to eight, the bridge was covered and we could not enter.

“We have plans in place in case something happens, but we rely on weather alerts. This time it happened within 45 minutes without any warning.”

Nearby at Barrowfield Dog Park, new business owners Sarah and Pete Reilly, Laura Maher and Kevin Connelly also found themselves in trouble after floodwaters rose at speeds they said they had not never seen before.

They were forced to wade through the water and rescue their eight horses, but their dog park and cafe are now submerged underwater.

“Usually when it happens, it happens gradually,” Kevin told the MEN. “No amount of rain, no matter how heavy, does that – it takes weeks and weeks for it to happen like that. Not one night of heavy rain.”

They claim they were not given enough warning by the Environment Agency. “Last night we were told it was a yellow weather report warning that might as well be daily in winter,” continued Kevin. “We were not aware of it.”

“I looked at the weather forecast the night before because we were opening the cafe on New Year’s Day and it just showed heavy rain,” Sarah added. “There was nothing about flooding. If there had been, we could have prepared for it.

“It seems to me that someone didn’t open a door where they should have, or the other way around. This is not normal. We haven’t heard a word from the local council, the Environment Agency, no one has come to check that everything is okay.”

There are a number of locks and flood storage reservoirs around South Manchester which work in tandem to try to avoid situations like yesterday. Water is directed to locations including Sale Water park, Withington Golf course and, once the water level has fallen, the River Mersey.

The Environment Agency said the level of the River Mersey was the highest in 66 years on New Year’s Day, with the peak at Stockport surpassing previous records from 1973 by more than 50cm.

Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester Today, Mayor Andy Burnham Authorities admitted to being “taken by surprise” by the voracity of the floods.

“We were all surprised, to some extent. There was no named storm. The authorities have not given any specific warning,” he said. “I’m not saying this to point fingers…but it looks like we’re being hit with very local torrential rains in potential locations. This could have made it a unique event. »

THE The Environment Agency has issued six flood warnings on New Year’s Eve for Greater Manchester, but these did not cover some areas which are now underwater. Four flood alerts were issued at the same timethat do not carry the warning message “act now”.

They followed the Met Office issuing a yellow weather warning for rain the afternoon of December 31.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Environment Agency teams have been working around the clock over the new year, operating flood defences, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding, issuing flood warnings and supporting affected communities, including across Greater Manchester.

“More broadly, we are implementing a long-term funding program for flood defences, investing more than £1.25 billion this year to increase national resilience by building new flood defenses and improving existing flood defenses.

“We know that providing the nation with the best flood risk information available is critical to ensuring that policymakers, practitioners and communities are prepared to adapt to flooding. »

They added that they have a number of major flood projects in Greater Manchester, with around 21,000 properties protected in the North West.