Nearly 120 flood warnings have been issued after parts of England were deluged with a month’s worth of rain over 24 hours, forcing people to evacuate their homes and stranding others in a shopping centre overnight.
Dozens of people stayed overnight in the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield after turning up for the Christmas lights switch-on as traffic ground to a halt outside.
On Thursday, 35 homes were evacuated as a precaution in Mansfield after a mudslide at an old quarry.
An Environment Agency rain gauge showed Swineshaw in the Peak District saw 4.4in (112mm) of rain on Thursday – the highest total of anywhere across England – while flood-hit parts of Sheffield experienced 3.4in (85mm) during the same period.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “Some places have seen a month’s worth of rain in one day. The rain is easing and moving south but obviously the impact of that will continue to be felt.”
As of Friday morning, the Environment Agency issued five “danger to life” severe flood warnings along the River Don at Barnby Dun, Kirk Bramwith, Kirk Sandall, South Bramwith and the Willow Bridge caravan site, which are all in Doncaster.
A total of 121 flood warnings were in place as well as 119 flood alerts.
There were nearly 30 flood warnings in place for Nottinghamshire, where Boris Johnson, the prime minister, is due to visit on Friday.
In Yorkshire, Doncaster Council told people in parts of Kirk Sandall to “evacuate immediately” at around 7am after the River Don breached its banks.
The Met Office predicted the flooding rains would clear and move south-east by lunchtime, but many flood warnings were expected to remain in place for the next few days.
Some of the most dramatic scenes of flooding were in Sheffield and Rotherham, where several roads were left impassable to traffic.
Cars were also stranded in floodwater and gridlock on many routes.
A number of houses were evacuated after they were flooded in the village of Whiston, near Rotherham.
In Sheffield, the council closed Millhouses Park, where a 14-year-old boy was swept to his death in the River Sheaf during the devastating floods in the city in 2007.
South Yorkshire Police said there had been “significant issues” in Doncaster, with Bentley, Toll Bar and Scawthorpe the worst affected areas.
Police were also called to the Parkgate Shopping Park in Rotherham on Thursday night, amid reports shoppers were trapped inside due to flood waters.
South Yorkshire Police tweeted that they were working to move “a number of people” who were stranded in the complex to “a place of safety”.
Additional reporting by Press Association
