'The water was rising, people were trapped in their flats with their kids'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

People 'trapped in their flats' before being rescued are unable to return home after severe flooding hit south Manchester on New Year's Day.

Palatine Road and surrounding streets in Didsbury became submerged after relentless rainfall on December 31. 'Hundreds' of people were to be rescued as a nearby Britannia hotel, which is housing asylum seekers, was evacuated along with nearby homes.

The M.E.N. understands the number could top 500. Videos and pictures taken from the south Manchester suburb on Wednesday night showed a huge emergency response, including fire crews, water rescue units, incident response teams, police and paramedics and mountain rescue teams all in attendance amid the major rescue mission.

People were seen being transported on rubber boats along Palatine Road to safety. A witness said the Britannia Country Park Hotel suffered a power cut and had started to flood, prompting the mass evacuation.