GMP and partners are continuing to work hard to keep the public safe from Storm Christoph
Our officers have been working relentlessly this week, alongside partners, to keep members of the public safe as Greater Manchester continues to battle the severe weather from Storm Christoph.
As heavy rain and snow fell on the county over the last 48 hours, water levels in the Irwell, Mersey, and Goyt rose to unprecedented levels and GMP worked in conjunction with partners from local authority’s, GMFRS, NWAS, the Met Office and the Environment Agency to ensure that residents in areas particularly affected were prepared to take the necessary safety measures.
Around 40 officers were in Didsbury – one of the worst-affected areas – overnight to safely evacuate hundreds of residents living near the Didsbury basin to either family members or temporary accommodation arranged by Manchester City Council.
Officers in Trafford also supported colleagues from the fire service to evacuate residents near Bollington Mill which saw severe water-levels and damage to a local power station.
GMP’s Assistant Chief Constable Nick Bailey led a strategic co-ordination group of local partners and emergency responders from Greater Manchester, and a major incident was declared on Tuesday (19 January 2021) evening to ensure maximum resources could be utilised to prevent a further threat to the public’s safety.
Thankfully, despite the worst of the weather overnight, no injuries have been reported and the majority of river levels have begun to steadily decrease meaning we are now able to stand down the major incident response and the severe flood warnings have been removed for the River Mersey, East and West Didsbury and Northenden.
Weather warnings remain in place in some areas and resources have not been withdrawn from the multi-agency response at this time.
Assistant Chief Constable Nick Bailey, Chair of the GM Strategic Co-ordination Group for Storm Christoph, said: “This week has posed some significant challenges to all of Greater Manchester – agencies and the general public alike – and I would like to thank everyone involved for their co-operation and perseverance over the last few days to mitigate the threat posed by Storm Christoph.
“Incidents like this are never easy, but this year COVID-19 added another complex dimension to our multi-agency response to this torrential weather and I am impressed and encouraged by how efficiently all those involved operated to ensure the safety of the public.
“While this is no longer a major incident, I want to be clear that this does not mean that we are withdrawing resources from the areas affected and others identified as potentially vulnerable.
“Residents will continue to see an increased presence from emergency services, local authorities and other partnership agencies as we support those still facing challenges caused by the flooding and we hope we can safely return people to their homes as quickly as possible.
“We will continue to update the public and anyone with concerns about flooding in their area can obtain further information by contacting their local authority. They will continue to sign-post you to the most appropriate information and support.”
