What to do when a flood warning is in place

Flood warnings and alerts have been issued for parts of the region as torrential rain continues to sweep across the UK in the aftermath of Storm Eunice.

Two severe flood warnings are in place in south Manchester - which could pose 'danger to life'.

Both East and West Didsbury have been put under the highest warning level after the River Mersey burst its banks, with some residents told they may need to evacuate their homes.

The Environment Agency is monitoring the situation and will continue to update the threat levels.

As of 2pm on Sunday, February 20, there are 21 warnings in place in and around Greater Manchester.

Here's the advice on how can you prepare for a flood and what to do if you find yourself in a flood.

In the event of a flood alert, you should prepare a bag of essential items to take with you if you do need to leave your home. You could include things like medicine, clothing and important documents, according to the Environment Agency.

You need to check how you would turn off your gas, electricity and water mains supplies, and think about how you would move your family and pets to safety.

To reduce flood damage you can take steps such as laying tiles instead of carpets, moving electrical sockets higher up the wall and fitting non-return valves to stop flood water entering your property through the drains.

Make sure you have insurance to protect your home or business. If you have buildings and contents insurance, check if flood damage is included.

Make sure you keep up to date with the latest alerts.

A flood warning means you need to act, so you need to do all of the actions above, and also the following:

It's important that you keep up to date with the situation whilst taking these steps.

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