Six months ago today the lives of hundreds of families across Greater Manchester were turned upside down.
When the River Irwell broke its banks on Boxing Day residents in Rochdale, Bury, Manchester, Salford and Radcliffe watched in horror as swirling water brought sewage and foul debris into their homes.
Kitchens, cars, furniture, keepsakes - and Christmas presents - were lost. The average insurance claim for each house was £40,000.
Now, six months on and as life starts to return to normal, the M.E.N spoke to some of those who have battled adversity to get their homes back.
Experts, builders, landlords and insurance brokers have fixed their homes - but it is their strong communities, supportive neighbours and pure grit that have seen them through.
Alan Regan lives on Riverside Drive, Radcliffe - a street we visited shortly after the flooding.
In January, the scene was one of devastation. Mud, sewage, silt and grime inside; sandbags, skips, trucks and generators outside.
Now, life is returning to normal.
Alan, 63, who has been living in a caravan with his wife Caren, 56, will finally move back in on Friday - nearly six months to the day.
He said: “It’s been hard, really hard. At first we moved in with our daughter but it was just too much, us all in one house.
“We lost so much too - our kitchen, furniture, television, computer, Christmas presents. Virtually everything we’d built up over the years.
The couple, who moved into their home on their wedding day 34 years ago, had to wait many months for the house to dry out before work could start.
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Thankfully, they were insured - but the stress has taken its toll.
Alan added: “I’ve had two strokes, one in February, another in March. The doctors say it was stress. It’s has been such a strain, but hopefully we’re nearly back to normal.
“Some people took cash payments and they aren’t near to moving in. The neighbours have been great.”
'Roughing it'
Grandparents Peter, 59, and Clare Weibrecht, 63, have been ‘roughing it’ in their house for the last three months, after living with their son became too cramped.
He said: “We are getting there very slowly. All the plastering is done, we’ve decorated most of downstairs, the kitchen’s being fitted.”
But it’s been hard.
“We had to move back in - we felt like we were invading our son’s space. We lived with just a sink and the council gave us a cooker, washing machine and a fridge. Things are taking shape now and we are brightening up.”
He added: “Everyone has been great around here. But many people have moved out and not been back, it has changed.”
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Over in Lower Broughton, and many residents on the Riverside, Heath Avenue and Cambridge estates are nearing the end of a long battle.
On the Cambridge Estate, John Street, Quindon Avenue, Gordon Street and Flora Drive were hit hard.
Keri Muldoon, 41, and her two children Phoenix, six, and Maverick, 11, were out at a family party when their rented home on Gordon Street was flooded.
Keri, a lollipop lady and dinner lady, said: “It was up to our waists. It was eerie, like the end of the world.
“Christmas presents gone. The carpet was floating - I remember seeing a bowl that was a present just floating along. The water was filthy, sewers were spitting.
“We got everything out and stayed in a hotel for two weeks.”
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But for the last six months, they have had to live in the house while it dried out, and then while work was completed.
“It was heartbreaking, devastating. Men in blue suits would come to inspect it - I would think, why are my kids living here if you have to wear these contamination suits? They have had viral infections, which they never used to get.
“But we’re getting back to normal now, a new living room, kitchen toilet, and two toilets.”
They should be back to normal in the next three weeks. Like many of her neighbours, Keri has been a huge support to the community.
She added: “My first thought when I saw the flooding was for the elderly on our street. They all had to move, but we’ve all helped and supported each other.”
Heartbreaking
Emily Bennett, 67, who has lived on Quendon Avenue for 12 years, will be the first on the estate to get her home fully restored on Tuesday.
She added: “It was so bad, everything on the ground floor gone, heartbreaking. It took four months just to dry it out.”
There are still many homes not restored, with families facing agonising waits to return to normality.
Great-grandmother Joan Jackson, 72, says she has her family and the community to thank for getting through the last six months.
The retired machinist says her 18 grandchildren helped to clean her Quendon Avenue home when it was left wrecked by the flood.
“I was panicking but they helped me. We’re nearly there now, we’re hoping it should be done next week.
“The whole community stuck together, we all looked after each other, there were so many volunteers who were absolutely marvellous.
“It’s the kids I felt for - all their presents lost. But they have been a good little bunch, you never heard them moan or ask for their presents back - they just got on with their little selves.”
“We just want it back to how it used to be now, and we’re getting there.”
