People have been forced to leave their homes as 140 flood warnings and alerts issued across northern regions
Torrential downpours have brought flooding to swaths of northern England, forcing people to leave their homes as more than a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours.
An 80-year-old man was hospitalised with serious internal injuries following a collision in heavy rain in the Scottish Borders on Friday afternoon. In the West Yorkshire village of Mytholmroyd, the river Calder burst its banks at about 9pm, leaving many homes and businesses under water.
Simon Young, a local councillor, said it was "a pretty devastating picture. I've spoken to a lot of people, a lot of whom have lived in the area for years, and they cannot remember anything like this in the last 24 years. It's going to be a pretty big clean-up operation."
The deluges also battered revellers at the Isle of Wight Festival and brought havoc to Cumbria which buckled under the worst of the wet weather.
Up to 100mm of rain hit the region overnight, while south-west Scotland, Northern Ireland and Lancashire also experienced unusually heavy rainfall.
The Environment Agency issued around 140 flood warnings and alerts in northern regions which are also subject to Met Office severe weather warnings.
Some families spent the night in temporary accommodation after they were evacuated from properties in Lancashire when rivers burst their banks.
They were taken to the nearby Darwen Leisure Centre after fleeing homes in Croston and Darwen, near Chorley, but were expected to return today.
In Wigan, fire crews helped a number of residents leave their homes using a rescue boat after waist-deep water flooded homes and the RSPCA called firefighters to assist in the rescue of a number of animals from a flooded allotment, including six horses and four dogs.
Forecasters said water levels would begin to recede but further showers are expected to slow the clear-up process, meaning some areas will remain swamped.
However, the adverse conditions are set to improve – with the possibility of sunshine for festival-goers on Sunday.
Matt Dobson, senior forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said Borrowdale in Cumbria bore the brunt of the bad weather, with an estimated 100mm of rain.
"It has been exceptionally wet overnight across Cumbria," he said.
"By the end of the night, it is fair to say that probably 70mm-100mm fell over 24 hours which is a month's worth of rain. It looks like the worst is probably now over for Cumbria.
"There will still be some showers today and overnight but it is not going to be anywhere near as bad as it has been.
"The worst weather today is going to be across Scotland, where there is likely to be further heavy rain or thunder storms. But the good news is the Isle of Wight is likely to have a dry day."
Severe weather warnings remain in place in the North West, East and West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber, Northern Ireland, Strathclyde, south-west and central Scotland, Lothian Borders, and Tayside and Fife, the Met Office said.
The Environment Agency has 92 flood warnings in place across northern England and 47 flood alerts. There are another three flood alerts in both the South West and Wales.
It came after rain brought chaos to parts of the country yesterday, flooding more than 70 homes.
Croston was said to have become an "island" and homes were evacuated as the local authority handed out sandbags and a shelter was set up at the village's Bishop Rawstorne School.
Localised flashflooding also hit households in Greater Manchester where water was said to be waist height in some areas.
Firefighters were called in to clear floodwater in Wigan, helping three people and a dog away from their properties by boat.
The Olympic torch relay was also hit by the weather with organisers forced to cancel an outdoor event in Blackpool.
But the outlook is more promising in the coming days.
A band of wet weather is expected to sweep the country tonight, moving from West to East. Forecasts suggest it will pass relatively quickly, meaning no one place should see more than five hours of rain.
Amounts of between 10mm-15mm are expected to fall quite widely before clearing in many areas tomorrow, with much of the country expected to see a dry day on Monday.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/23/floods-northern-england-torrential-rain
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