Firefighters, mountain rescue teams, British Army troops and local volunteers fought rising flood waters after Storm Desmond dumped an unprecedented amount of rain on north-west England and the Scottish Borders.
The town of Honister in Cumbria recorded 13.4in of rain, the highest 24-hour level ever recorded. The deluge left the city of Carlisle and hundreds of homes submerged. Many rivers burst their banks, flowing into streets and submerging cars.
Rescue teams used boats to ferry those forced to leave their houses, and about 60,000 homes in the north-west were left without power.
Fallen trees lay across a submerged road to the Ullswater Steamer terminal, as flood water from the River Eamont covers the pierPaul Ellis/AFPThe remains of an 18th century bridge that crossed the River Eamont at the northern end of Ullswater, in Pooley BridgePaul Ellis/AFPSoldiers help with the rescue effort in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesA man stumbles as he wades through flood water in CarlislePhil Noble/ReutersA man carries a tray of hot drinks and sausage sandwiches to residents remaining in their flooded properties in CarlisleOli Scarff/AFPRescue teams continue to to evacuate people from their homes in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesDoors and windows are reflected in water in CarlisleAndrew Yates/ReutersRescue workers carry an elderly woman in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesPrime Minister David Cameron looks at the flood defence system on Warwick Road in CarlisleAndrew Yates/ReutersOne of the entrances to Carlisle United football groundJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesRescue workers pull a boat full of residents along a flooded street in CarlislePhil Noble/ReutersA rescue team helps to evacuate people in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesWorkers clear water-damaged stock from a store in CockermouthPaul Ellis/AFPA man bails out a flooded property in CarlislePhil Noble/ReutersThe people of Keswick begin the clean-up after flood damage caused by Storm DesmondChristopher Furlong/Getty ImagesBrian McCann surveys the damage as he stands in water in his living room in CarlisleOli Scarff/AFPA man sweeps mud out of a house in CockermouthPaul Ellis/AFPResidents clear silt from a house in CockermouthPaul Ellis/AFPA Christmas tree is removed from an estate agents in CockermouthPaul Ellis/AFPWater-damaged belongings are left on the pavement in KeswickChristopher Furlong/Getty ImagesA dog sniffs flood damaged goods outside a shop in KeswickPaul Ellis/AFPA mattress is used as a form of flood defence at a property in CarlisleOli Scarff/AFPPeople look at flooding in the market town of Cockermouth at the confluence of the River Cocker and River DerwentChristopher Furlong/Getty ImagesResidents put their Wellington boots on in the doorway of a flooded house in CarlislePaul Ellis/AFPA man and his dogs wait to be be evacuated from a flooded house in CarlislePaul Ellis/AFPA man carries a dog through the floodwaters in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesA soldier helps move a stranded person from a flooded street in CarlislePaul Ellis/AFPRescue teams carry people to safety through the flood water in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesA member of the rescue team carries a young woman to safety in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesA rescue team helps to evacuate people and their pets in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesRescue evacuate a woman and her pets in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesA rescue worker carries a dog as teams continue to evacuate people from their homes in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesA footbridge in Keswick is covered with debris after the floodwaters subsidedPaul Ellis/AFPDebris is left on the river bank after the river Greta flooded in KeswickPaul Ellis/AFPA flooded graveyard in the market town of ApplebyChristopher Furlong/Getty ImagesA cricket scoreboard is surrounded by water after the River Eden bursts its banks in ApplebyChristopher Furlong/Getty ImagesFlood water flows over a road near the market town of ApplebyChristopher Furlong/Getty ImagesA car is submerged in flood waters in the city centre of CarlisleAndrew Yates/ReutersCars and houses are submerged as Storm Desmond causes flooding in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesResidents look out from their flooded home in CarlisleJeff J Mitchell/Getty ImagesA man walks down a flooded street in CarlislePaul Ellis/AFP
Further flooding and disruption is expected as forecasters warn of more heavy rain on 7 December in Scotland, north-west England and Wales. Britain has suffered several heavy floods in recent years. In 2014 thousands of acres of farmland in Somerset and properties along the Thames were submerged for weeks, and the northwest region was badly flooded in both 2009 and 2005.
