By Ramazani Mwamba
Copyright manchestereveningnews
Five flood alerts have been issued in Greater Manchester following a deluge of torrential rain this weekend. The government warnings have been issued as local rivers look close to bursting their banks due to the heavy rainfall. Residents in Salford , Bolton , Rochdale , Oldham and Bury have been told to remain on high alert this afternoon. The locations are within the catchment area for the River Irwell and River Mersey. As of 6pm flood alerts had been issued for: A flood alert means that flooding is possible so you should prepare now. You can view them here. According to the Environment Agency, teams will be out and about to support local authorities and reduce the impact of flooding in the affected areas. Stefan Laeger, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Widespread rainfall with isolated heavy bursts could lead to some significant river flooding across parts of the Northwest and some significant surface water flooding and minor river flooding across parts of the North of England and the Midlands from Saturday into Sunday morning. “Environment Agency teams will be out on the ground, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding and supporting local authorities in responding to surface water flooding. “We advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car. “People should search ‘check my flood risk’ online, sign up for free flood warnings, and keep up to date with the latest situation with @EnvAgency on X.” On X, formerly known as Twitter , the Met Office said: “Flooding may affect parts of Wales and northern England this evening, especially northwest England, with heavy and persistent rain in places “Some briefly very strong winds may also occur across Wales, the Midlands and northern England with gales a possibility in places
