Yellow weather warnings have been put in place for England and Wales the next few days as heavy rain and strong winds are set to create flooding and disrupt travel.
Storm Ciara has already battered Salford this month, with many homes up and down the region already damaged.
However unlike the 2015 Boxing Day floods which saw the city decimated, the new £10m reservoir, which is situated on the old Manchester Racecourse on Castle Irwell, managed to protect many homes and businesses in the Lower Broughton and Lower Kersal area.
It works by collecting overflow from the River Irwell, and has a capacity of 250 Olympic sized swimming pools.
The reservoir was created in partnership with the Environment Agency, Salford Council and University of Salford.
Today in #Salford we have operated our #flood storage reservoirs that have helped protect over 5000 homes from flooding #StormCiara pic.twitter.com/njTKWnhB5M
— Env Agency NW (@EnvAgencyNW) February 9, 2020
On behalf of the Environmental Agency, Ms Harding said: “We advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and urge people not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.”
Salford residents are urged to join the other 1.4 million people who have signed up for flood alerts.
The Met Office advises that in a flood, prepare a bag that includes medicines and insurance documents, turn off gas, water and electricity and move items upstairs to safety.
Follow advice from emergency services, and dial 999 if in immediate danger.
The 24-hour FloodLine provides advice on how to stay safe during a flood: 0345 988 1188. More information can be found on gov.uk.
Featured image credit: @OpenMapTiles, @OpenStreetMap, Met Office
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