Today's Edition
LONDON (PA Media/dpa)
A major incident has been declared in the northern English region of Greater Manchester after flooding forced homes to be evacuated and closed train lines and roads following heavy rain.
Greater Manchester Police said the major incident had been declared as mountain rescue teams have been deployed to help Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service deal with damaged properties and stranded vehicles.
Some residents have been asked to evacuate where flood warnings have been issued, Manchester City Council said.
The North West and Wales have seen heavy rain 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.
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."
A total of 90 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, were in place for England on Wednesday afternoon, with nine for Wales and 15 for Scotland.
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.
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.
A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place covering northern Scotland until 10 am (1000 GMT) on Thursday, as rain turning to snow is likely to lead to some travel disruption and difficult driving conditions, the Met Office said.
Meanwhile, a yellow warning for ice has been issued from 4 pm on Wednesday until 10 am on Thursday, covering Northern Ireland, parts of North Wales, England and Scotland, which could also lead to difficult travel conditions.
A three-day yellow warning for snow was issued for almost all of England and Wales and parts of Scotland this weekend as the Met Office warned that rural communities could become cut off.
Schools could potentially be closed and there is a chance of power cuts and road closures as well as delays and cancellations to flights and trains, the forecaster said.
