a building that had stood tall for over 200 years on the banks of the river, another casualties of the rising river levels. and in radcliff, a gas main exploded. in lancashire water flooded the main road, cutting the village in two and flooding homes and businesses. some returned home this evening to salvage possessions and assess the damage, but the cleanup will take months this is the first time we ve been in this state. robert s been here 50 years, hewett shackleton, 50 years. reporter: efforts to keep the rising water at bay were presumably futile. and emergency services and the army were drafted in. we ve been knocking on doors,
evacuated. martha fairley has a look at some of the worst-hit areas. reporter: the boxing day deluge had been predicted, but there was nothing homeowners could do to stop the rising water. at one point, 15,000 homes were left without electricity. the water side restaurant which had stood for over 200 years, another casualty of the rising river levels. and in radcliff, a gas main exploded. in lancashire the roads flooded. some families who were evacuated returned this evening to assess damage and salvage possessions. but the cleanup here will take months. this is the first time we ve been in this state.