Heath Avenue estate in Lower Broughton, Salford Credit: Leah Dean
Homes close to the River Irwell where it runs through Charlestown in Salford are being evacuated.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed officers were going do-to-door amid fears the river was about to burst its banks there.
Frederick Road, where it crosses the Irwell, has also been closed off while the emergency services try to get people out of their homes.
Julia Christie, 28, who also saw The Waterside collapse, said:
Adrian Costello was beside The Waterside pub when it collapsed into the River Irwell in Summerseat, Bury.
Adrian then went to watch Manchester United being beaten 2-0 at Stoke City and then came home to be told he would not be allowed into his apartment building because of safety fears. “I’ve had better days,” he said.
These are the latest pictures of the huge sinkhole that has appeared on the M62.
The massive hole opened up between near Rochdale, between the junctions for Heywood and Middleton, and Rochdale, shortly after midday, bringing traffic grinding to a halt.
The westbound carriageway has been closed as engineers examine the scene.
Assistant Chief Constable John O’Hare, of GMP, said:
Ian Pemberton, 26, described how his cafe, called Grandma Millie, had been virtually destroyed when floodwaters ripped through Rochdale town centre.
He said:
Mohammad Rahman, 44, has told us how he rescued his elderly parents from their flood-hit home on Hey Street in Rochdale town centre.
He described how he and other family members went to his parents’ home where they escorted his father Sunahor Ali, aged in his 80s, out of the terraced property and then carried his frail mother, Sunaban Bibi, in her 70s, out.
He said his parents were fine.
The fire service was called to Outwood Road in Radcliffe 3.25pm to reports of an explosion.
Reports are just reaching us of a huge explosion in Bury town centre near Peel Way.
Eye-witness Saeed Atcha, 19, told us:
The M62 in Greater Manchester has been closed by a 20ft sinkhole which opened up in the road between junctions 19 and 20 as the north of England was battered by a month’s rain in a few hours.
The massive hole opened up between near Rochdale, between the junctions for Heywood and Middleton, and Rochdale, shortly after midday, bringing traffic grinding to a halt.
The westbound carriageway has been closed as engineers examine the scene.
Meanwhile, the Met Office has issued red ‘danger to life’ flood warnings around the region and in Lancashire and the north of England, as the army has been called in to evacuate some of the worst-hit areas.
Forecasters have warned people to expect more rain and flooding this evening across Lancashire and Yorkshire.
