Thousands of people are facing a Christmas flooding nightmare as river levels keep rising in York - where entire streets have been submerged.
David Cameron is likely to face tough questions about the devastation, which has also affected Leeds, Greater Manchester and swathes of Yorkshire and Lancashire, when he visits the area later.
The River Ouse is around 5.1m above its normal summer levels and is expected to keep rising until it approaches its highest level ever recorded - 5.4m - at around lunchtime on Monday.
The Environment Agency said officials had been forced to lift the city's flood barrier after water entered the Foss barrier building, causing flooding to around 500 properties on Sunday.
Families were forced to flee from their homes as residential streets were turned into rivers of mud as waters reached record levels.
Some 500 soldiers have been drafted in and 1,000 more are on standby to help after the Prime Minister vowed to help people "in their hour of need".
Residents affected by the deluge said it had been "frightening".
Speaking near his flooded home in York, Dan Cook told Sky News: "Last night we moved the cars just in case, then went to sleep and when we woke up this morning it was like it is now, so quite frightening."
He added: "You can't do much about it. We're on the top floor. I've just been out and got some supplies of water and milk and things
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