Floods in Greater Manchester after heavy rain
A severe weather warning was issued for the Greater Manchester region Heavy rain storms have led to severe flooding in parts of Greater Manchester.
Thunder and lightning struck in Manchester city centre during a downpour on Thursday afternoon.
People living in Stockport and Cheadle Hulme were thought to be the worst-hit, as a flood warning was issued for the River Bollin catchment area.
The Environment Agency said Knutsford, Wilmslow, Hale, Macclesfield and Bollington could also be affected.
Bramhall Lane in Bramhall was closed for safety reasons after reports that cars were floating on flood water.
Flooding also caused the closure of an exit slip road at junction 17 of the anticlockwise carriageway of the M60 near Prestwich.
The road had re-opened by 2000 BST.
Weather warning
John Aspinal, Station Commander from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, said the Bury area is also expected to be hit with heavy rain as the conditions move north.
He advised people to contact the fire service if they got into difficulty in the wet weather.
"Try and monitor the weather as best you can and to keep an eye on the storms," he said.
"These storm clouds are now moving across and there shouldn't be any more for the remainder of today.
"If people do feel unease or at risk then give us a call and we will assist where we can."
A severe weather warning was issued for the Greater Manchester region by the Met Office on Thursday.
The wet weather is expected to continue in the region over the next few days.
13 August 2010 Last updated at 10:25 GMT Share this pageFacebookTwitter ShareEmail Print Clean-up after floods hit Greater Manchester
AdvertisementHeavy flooding in Cheadle made driving conditions difficult
A clean-up operation is under way in parts of Greater Manchester after flash flooding left some homes under water and motorists stranded.
The Met Office said up to 15mm (0.6in) of rain fell in the space of an hour in some areas on Thursday afternoon.
People living in parts of Stockport and Bury were thought to be the worst-hit, with a number of roads flooded.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said they dealt with more than 70 call-outs in two hours.
Water 'chaos'
Spokesman John Aspinall said about 25 of those calls were for serious flooding problems.
"One of the incidents that we remained at the longest was in the Broadway/Wilmslow Road area of Cheadle Hulme where unfortunately due to the deluge the ground became very unstable and muddy," he said.
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It was torrential”
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Janice Evans
Bramhall resident
"We had a tree fall into a river which then - like a dam if you will - redirected the water out of the river and down the roadways and caused some chaos."
Bramhall Lane in Bramhall was closed for safety reasons after reports that cars were floating on flood water.
Several streets in the area became blocked by torrents of water and one local resident, Janice Evans, described the streets as "like rivers" after her son's car got trapped.
"[It was like] a very swirling, wild river. It was torrential."
"We went down about an hour later to retrieve part of my son's car and there were people wading in it and it was way past their knees," she added.
Flooding also caused the closure of an exit slip road at junction 17 of the anticlockwise carriageway of the M60 near Prestwich.
A severe weather warning was issued for the Greater Manchester region by the Met Office on Thursday.
By Friday morning, the Environment Agency said flood watches for the River Bollin and Mersey Estuary catchment areas were no longer in operation.
However, the wet weather is expected to continue in the region over the next few days.
