A Britannia hotel in south Manchester was evacuated due to severe flooding. The Britannia Country House hotel on Palatine Road, Didsbury, understood to be housing asylum seekers, was evacuated after the area became submerged, following a night of heavy rainfall on New Year’s Eve.
The River Mersey earlier burst it banks, with water quickly filling neighbouring streets. Nearby Fletcher Moss Gardens also became completely flooded, with emergency crews dispatched to the area.
Palatine Road became completely flooded
(Image: JMG Press)
Pictures taken from the scene on Wednesday evening showed a heavy fire service and police presence. Numerous water rescue units were called to the scene with boats sent to transport people to safety.
A local resident said emergency crews told her there were ‘hundreds of people’ that needed to be rescued from the surrounding area.
Three police tactical aid unit vans turned up as firefighters wearing water rescue kits were seen walking into the cordon. Mountain Rescue teams were also called to the incident.
The road was closed at the junction with Mersey Road and Dane Road West amid the multi-agency rescue operation. Rubber boats full of people were seen transporting those from the venue to the edge of the cordon.
Boats were used to rescue people
(Image: JMG Press)
Exactly how many people were rescued has not been confirmed. A witness said they were informed the power at the venue had also been cut off due to the extent of the flooding.
“There are boats here now,” one witness said. “The police officer said that there’s like no power in the hotel or anything and they’re having to use torches.
“Boats full of people are coming out. An ambulance has come and gotten patients. [There are] multiple boat teams, two enhanced rescue units and ambulances.”
Sarah Baram, 40, a local resident, lives in a top floor apartment nearby. Her block has been evacuated and she is having to stay with her family nearby. She told the M.E.N: “At 7.30 this morning we came out and everything was fine. At 9 o’clock I came down in the lift, opened the doors to the car park and all of the water started pouring into the lift.
“We came outside through the stairs and the water level then, I’d say, was maybe only calf deep. We went to the garage to get the car and it was probably knee deep in the basement.
“We came back at 11 and the water level had risen half a metre or so. Now, we have been stuck not expecting we wouldn’t be able to get back in. We’ve got no stuff. We’ve been stuck out really since 9am. I’ve asked if there’s a way to get back in and get all our stuff so we can go to my mum and dad’s in Wales.
“They [emergency services] said they will be doing the rescue now for another four hours because they still have hundreds of people to get out. After the hotel, there are a couple more apartments there.
“It was how fast the water rose that was the scary thing. Our neighbour, bless her, was stuck in there with two under-twos on her own with no water or electricity. It’s been awful.”
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A major incident was declared by emergency services on Wednesday (January 1). Police said that Bolton, Didsbury, Harpurhey, Stalybridge, Stockport and Wigan were the areas which had seen the greatest impact.