Desperate residents are frantically trying to stop rising waters from entering their homes after a burst pipe has left streets in London flooded this morning.
Twelve fire engines and 80 firefighters are at the scene of the burst water main in Hackney and nearby Finsbury Park, which has caused some people to be stranded and forced a school to close.
Water is gushing into basement and ground-floor properties and one person told Mirror Online they "have never seen anything like this in my life".
Fears have been raised for elderly occupants who cannot leave their homes, but a police spokeswoman confirmed they are assisting with evacuating the area.
Residents have been seen wading through the water in wellies, while cars are also submerged in the water.
One woman, who lives in a third-floor flat, said when her flatmate left at around 7.15am the streets were fine, but when she looked out the window at around 8am the "roads had been replaced with a river."
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The 29-year-old told Mirror Online: "I could not believe what I was seeing. I was listening to the weather forecast on the radio and it said it was going to be pleasant and quite dry.
"I could hear water and I went to the window and looked out and there was a river.
"I rang my flatmate and she was shocked that was the scene.
"I can see people using buckets trying to throw the water out their homes. Firefighters keep walking past and a few people are in their wellies walking up and down the road and exploring.
"Other people are stood by their windows looking out at what's happened."
The travel industry worker continued: "I'm trapped, I've missed work, which is infuriating when you're starting a new job.
"I feel really sorry for the people in the basements and lower floors as I can see them trying to pour out the water."
Some have described the water as "knee-deep" while in other parts it is "ankle-deep".
Resident Steve Stubbs knew something was amiss when he went to get a drink and there was no water.
"Then I checked Twitter and saw one tweet about a flood on Queens Drive," he said.
"I thought... oh that's where we are. I opened the balcony door and saw this river flowing down the road.
"The school looks OK as it's on slightly higher ground, but residents around the area on ground doors are having issues I think.
"We are dry up on the fourth floor."
Karim Traboulsi was woken up by the noise and initially thought something was wrong with his heating, or that it was raining heavily over the roof.
He said: "Then I peeked out the window and saw the flooding. My first thought was: I probably won't be able to make it to work.
"Now we're a bit worried about our elderly neighbour in the basement flat.
"[Water] isn't yet coming through, but it's leaking into the front garden, but hasn't made it to the stairs or the building foundations. The water level is not rising as far as I can tell, but it's still flowing very quick.
"Firefighters are on the street talking to anyone who ventures out. They haven't come in to talk to everyone in the building.
"I've seen some people trying to brace the water but it seems the fire department personnel are advising them against it but not stopping them per se."
One person tweeted: "Woken up to find our flat now has a river view."
A second added: "The street and my neighbours' flats are under water."
Footage taken of Queens Drive shows fast-moving water flowing down the street, with cars still parked on the road.
Hackney Council is also opening a rest centre for residents, while emergency services are distributing water.
A Thames Water spokesman said: "We're sorry to any customers affected by our burst main this morning.
"We’ve sent our specialist engineers to the scene as a top priority, and they will be working hard to get everything back to normal as soon as possible."
A spokesman for London Fire Brigade said: "Twelve fire engines and around 80 firefighters, as well other specialist vehicles, are at the scene of a burst water main at the junction of Queens Drive and Princess Crescent, Finsbury Park.
"An area measuring around 600 x 200 metres has been flooded to a depth of around one metre. Firefighters are evacuating residents from affected properties. Queens Drive and Brownswood Road are currently closed to traffic.
"The Brigade was called at 0747.
"Fire crews from Holloway, Stoke Newington, Islington, Kentish Town and Tottenham fire stations are at the scene."
