Storm Christoph Flooding Forces Evacuations in England and Wales; COVID-19 Vaccine Plant Threatened

 Ron Brackett

Published: January 21, 2021

Flooding across the United Kingdom from Storm Christoph forced more than 2,000 homes to evacuate and threatened a facility where a COVID-19 vaccine is bottled.

Emergency crews worked through the night to keep water away from the facility in North Wales where the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is put into vials, according to the Guardian.

The company, Wockhardt UK, said in a statement it had experienced "mild flooding, resulting in excess water surrounding part of the buildings across the site."

"All necessary precautions were taken, meaning no disruption to the manufacturing or inlet of water into buildings. The site is now secure and free from any further flood damage and operating as normal."

SPONSORED: Epic winter clearance sale at Sierra Trading Post

Flooding stranded 49 residents and staffers at a retirement village in Northwich, Cheshire, the BBC reported. Sam Naylor, a Northwich official, said power had been off at the complex since Wednesday evening and there was some concern about elderly residents and those with dementia.

(WATCH: Sinking Land from Groundwater Pumping Could Impact 1.6 Billion People)

Firefighters were working on a plan to evacuate the village's residents and those at another nearby retirement center to hotels in the area.

The Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had responded to 134 incidents — most caused by Christoph — between 7 a.m. Wednesday and 7 a.m. Thursday.

Floodwaters from Storm Christoph caused the historic Llanerch Bridge between Trefnant and Tremeirchion to collapse on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, in St. Asaph, United Kingdom. The storm swept across the north of England and Scotland bringing flooding and heavy snow.

Five severe flood warnings remained in place in the United Kingdom on Thursday afternoon, and more than 200 flood warnings remained in place across the north of England and Wales as rain and snow continue to fall.

Many rivers were at "dangerously high levels," the Environment Agency said.

Some parts of the region had recorded 7.9 inches of rain – more than a month’s worth – on Tuesday and Wednesday, Ben Lukey of the Environment Agency told the Guardian.

Evacuations were ordered late Wednesday in Manchester and North Wales.

Thursday morning, Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Didsbury in Manchester as some families were allowed to return home, the BBC reported.

"There will be more to come," Johnson said. "There will be further rain next week, so it is vital that people who are in potentially affected areas follow the advice."

Lee Rawlinson of the Environment Agency told the BBC that flood defenses on the River Mersey at Didsbury kept much of the town safe.

"The top of the river came within centimeters of the top of the river bank but our defenses there have served their purpose and kept those properties dry. But it was close," Rawlinson said.

The River Ouse in York floods as rain and recent melting snow raise river levels on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, in York, England. Storm Christoph is the first named storm of 2021 with heavy rain and snowfall bringing flooding to areas of the U.K. including Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Cambridgeshire.

About 12 miles away in Lymm, water poured into the home of Gabrielle Burns-Smith and her partner James Dainty.

"We're still in the house, we can't go anywhere because we can't get the car out, the water is just too deep," Burns-Smith told the Warrington Guardian.

"We've got a freezer full of food but it's not switched on," she said. "All the plug sockets downstairs are under water so we've switched everything off down there."

The couple moved some furniture upstairs, but what they couldn't move was lost. They are waiting for the water to go down now.

"We managed to get a couple of hours sleep but you almost don't want to go to sleep because you don't know what you'll wake up to," Burns-Smith said.

Rail service was canceled between Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington, and officials urged people not to travel unless absolutely necessary, Sky News reported.

Rain, hail and sleet led to multiple crashes on the M5 motorway, including a five-car pileup that closed southbound lanes north of Bristol in South Gloucestershire, the BBC reported.

For most of Great Britain, the worst of the storm is over, according to weather.com meteorologist Ari Sarsalari. There will still be some snow that falls in Scotland through Friday, and some spots could see close to a foot of snow.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.