Severe flooding hit Northwest England on New Year's Day, leaving countless families struggling with extensive water damage and prompting calls for accountability from local authorities.
Residents of Stockport, particularly families like Alan and Lyn Russell, faced devastating consequences as torrential rain poured down on December 31, continuing through the early hours of January 1. The couple's home on Glandon Drive was swamped with "two to three inches of water" as blocked drainage grids failed to cope with the unprecedented rainfall.
Alan, 77, expressed his frustration, stating, "It's the grids on the road... I am quite angry about it, because we told the council what would happen and they didn't do anything." He and Lyn—both now confronting fears of damp and long-term health issues—were left reeling after witnessing water cascade toward their home from Ack Lane West, creating what felt like a lake right outside their door.
Lyn, 79, remembered the alarming moment they discovered the flooding. "We were getting ready for bed [on New Year's Eve] and I realized water was coming toward us and the kitchen was flooded... We wouldn't have survived if my son-in-law hadn't come round with his rods to clear the grid," she recounted, emphasizing the health and safety risks posed by the situation.
Meanwhile, neighbor Dave Young had to confront similar distress. He described conditions, stating the water was "up to the ankles" inside his home, forcing his family to clear debris for 15 hours the following day and incurring damage costing tens of thousands of pounds. "There's a sense of frustration because they knew there was a risk... that's negligence," he lamented.
Reports indicate nearly 1,000 people across Greater Manchester were evacuated due to flooding, with the damage extending to parts of Lancashire and Cheshire as well. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham assured affected residents, saying, "Every resident who has been affected will have no questions left unanswered." Burnham’s remarks followed numerous complaints about the lack of timely action from the local authorities to mitigate these disasters, as this incident represented the third severe weather event of its kind within five years.
Councillor Richard Kilpatrick raised serious concerns, insisting accountability is necessary. He stated, "There needs to be accountability... We need to ask some really serious questions of all the government agencies about whether the response was up to it, whether the warning from the environment agency came early enough." His comments came after emergency services declared a major incident early on New Year's Day.
The Environment Agency (EA) had already issued approximately 70 flood warnings before the deluge, indicating the authorities had anticipated the severity, yet many, including Burnham, felt unprepared as the rain overwhelmed defenses. "If people cast their mind back to what might seem comparable events... there were more warnings then," Burnham noted, referring to the floods caused by heavy rain during Boxing Day 2015.
Experts like Andy Brown from the EA have also pointed to the need for improved flood defense systems throughout the region. He claimed, "We estimate... at least 21,000 properties have been prevented from flooding thanks to flood defenses doing their job." Yet, as properties lay damaged and families faced upheaval, many question how effective those systems truly are against extreme weather.
Compounding local concerns, climate change has repeatedly reared its head. Ruth Wood from the Tyndall Centre attributes the severity and frequency of these rainfall events to the warming climate. "The intensification of rainfall events we've seen across Europe... has been shown to have human influence," Wood explained.
Meanwhile, the clean-up continues across impacted locales, where blockage of drains and gullies has become increasingly criticized by officials. Local leaders like Councillor David Meller emphasized the need for proactive measures and routine maintenance of drainage systems. "There needs to be improvement... making sure grids and gullies are regularly cleared," he asserted.
With multiple flooding occurrences within recent years, residents are left worried and frustrated about the lack of preparation. Dave Young encapsulated these sentiments, stating, "There's real risk this could happen again... when you see water pouring, you just panic."
Despite the harsh realities faced by families like the Russells and Youngs, the local response is still taking shape, with all eyes on future measures to prevent such calamities from repeating.