Dozens forced to evacuate their homes by dinghy after torrential flooding in Merseyside

1 October 2024, 12:49

Dozens of people have been forced to leave their homes after heavy flooding on Merseyside.

42 people had to be assisted by emergency services yesterday (Monday) as torrential rain caused roads to be turned to rivers, with residents being rescued on dinghies and moved into hotels.

John is one of the residents, he told LBC: "I really was very worried because it came up so fast. It done the garage, my conservatory, the kitchen... the conservatory is completely flooded out. It's going to take a while to clean everything up."

In 2010, residents suffered flooding on an even greater scale with people being forced to move out of their homes for six months.

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Connor has had to move into a hotel after torrential rain caused his home in Liverpool to flood on Monday

Resident Liz told LBC: "It's so upsetting to go through this again. Last night I started feeling like my asthma was being affected again. We were out for six months last time and he doesn't want to go anywhere because it worries you the house is empty."

Liz's husband, Dave, said: "The electricity's gone off now, it's upsetting. The council issued sandbags when the water came up last time, they didn't work. There's not enough and they don't work properly. It's come round the back too, all the drains in the back garden were all flying up.

Along the street there is debris in front gardens, a mattress on the street and a layer of soil and grit lining the pavements.

Michelle, another resident, told LBC: All our gas and electricity is off now, I totally panicked. The water came to the lip at the top step, the kitchen was flooded, my friend had to go to a hotel because she was waist deep.

Connor lives on the corner of the street and was among the worst affected, he said: "I got a phone call saying the streets were flooded, I came home and the water was about thigh-height. I had to get in to get the dog out.

"I've got the ring doorbell and could see the water was rising, rising. I think my car's pretty much a write-off. We'll see if it starts at some point.

"Everything's all over the place, there's a lot of waste, obviously it's sewage mixed with tap water, so it does smell.

"We've been in this house all my life. The first time we were out of the house six months, but hopefully it won't be that long this time.

"We'll probably be in the hotel for the next week and wait for people to come down and assess the damage."

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews arrived to find surrounding streets involved with flooding.

"Following multi-agency meetings, fire crews assisted in the evacuation of people from their homes. Some were assisted out of their homes using a rescue sled.

"A total of 42 people have been aided, some have been evacuated, while others have chosen to stay put in their homes, take refuge at a local community centre, or make alternative accommodation arrangements."

A United Utilities spokesperson said: “Following extremely heavy rainfall across the region some areas including Bootle have experienced localised flooding.

"Our priority at this time is to help those customers who have been affected.

Our teams are out on site working closely with the local authority and other agencies to help residents.”