Work continues to support communities across Cheshire following severe flooding

Emergency services and other agencies are continuing to work together to support local communities across Cheshire following persistent rain and severe flooding.

Since the major incident was declared on Wednesday 20 January following the arrival of Storm Christoph, agencies have been working around the clock as part of the Cheshire Local Resilience Forum to help ease flood waters, assist people being evacuated from their homes and clear water-logged roads as quickly as possible.

The main areas of concern continue to be Northwich town centre, parts of Warrington and also Farndon – where a number of residents have been evacuated. There were 4 people evacuated from Farndon, 48 from Northwich and approximately 100 from Warrington - but we are aware others have voluntarily left and sought accommodation independently.

This is in addition to other evacuations over the past few days in Chester, Ellesmere Port and Tattenhall.

These have been led by Cheshire West and Chester Council and Warrington Borough Council and supported by a number of agencies including Cheshire Constabulary, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Environment Agency and our colleagues from Cheshire Search and Rescue.

The situation is under constant review and flood warnings remain in place along with a number of road closures across the county.

Superintendent Julie Westgate from Cheshire Constabulary said: “We’re continuing to work closely with our partners to monitor the situation and deal with any flooding related issues across the county. All agencies are committed to working together to provide a co-ordinated response in very difficult and often hazardous circumstances in order to keep people safe. I want to reassure local residents that collectively we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact on the local community.

“Whilst the heavy rain has stopped and flood waters are subsiding, a number of flood alerts and road closures remain in place and we are urging people to be aware of these and to only travel if it is absolutely essential. If you do need to go out please take extra care and allow more time for this as there is a risk of surface water flooding and weather-related debris in places.”

Residents are also reminded not to drive or walk through any flood water – this is often deeper than it looks, it may be moving fast and there could be hidden hazards underneath such as raised manhole covers, which can pose a danger.
For details of the flood warnings that remain in place and to keep up-to-date with the latest news please visit the Environment Agency website.

Anyone concerned about potential flooding should sign up for free flood warnings on the Environment Agency website, follow them on Twitter @EnvAgencyNW for the latest information or you can call the Flood Line on 0345 988 1188.