A bit of good news from Rochdale Council...

Tom Airey
Reporter, BBC News Online

The emphasis of the emergency service response to flooding in North Yorkshire has now moved from protecting life to the recovery stage, police say.

River levels in York, Selby, Cawood and Tadcaster are slowly receding, but problems with telephone lines are still being experienced in some areas of York.

Over 600 soldiers and about 125 mountain rescue personnel have been involved in the response in North Yorkshire.

About 250 people have been evacuated from their homes, police say, with rest centres providing temporary accommodation for about 115 people.

There are many roads affected by flooding in Lancashire, including:

• Hest Bank Lane in Hest Bank is closed in both directions between the Townfield Lane junction and The Crescent junction

• Flooding is affecting Euxton Lane in Chorley between the Pear Tree Lane junction and the Bay Horse traffic lights

• The A646 Burnley to Todmorden road is badly disrupted between Parkside Road, Cornholme, on the boundary of Lancashire, and the A6033, in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, as repair work takes place

Johnathan Dabelle, who runs a clothes store in Hebden Bridge, says that despite his stock being ruined and shop flooded he remains defiant.

He is determined to reopen as soon as possible.

The Cumbria Community Foundation says it has handed out £700,000 to more than 900 homes in the county since Storm Desmond hit at the beginning of the month.

The Bishop of Bolton has been visiting victims of the Boxing Day floods in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester.

The Rt Rev Christopher Edmonson said it was difficult to comprehend the sheer scale of the damage.  

"I was talking to one guy - he was saying at first he thought it was going to be OK but then suddenly the waters came around the edge of the house and literally within a few minutes they were 2ft deep in the water."    

A group of people at Bell Farm Social Centre in York have banded together to provide a 24/7 volunteer aid operation for flood victims.  

Hundreds of homes across the county have been affected and many have given items to help those who've been stranded.

Severe flood warnings remain in Croston where the military are helping to repair defences, Lancashire County Council, external says.

Many local residents are pitching-in to help those affected by the floods in the Kirkstall area of Leeds.

Hebden Bridge Times

Looters have targeted flood stricken communities, external in Calderdale.

Police have warned of thieves stealing property left to dry outside flood-ravaged homes and businesses.

Image source, AP

Electricity North West says power has now been restored to all but 88 customers in Greater Manchester.

A spokesman said it had been a "challenging time" after thousands of homes lost power.

A Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter is lifting 400 one tonne sand bags to reinforce the river banks at Croston.

It can carry eight tonnes at a time so will have to make 50 trips.

York's well-known Jorvik Viking Centre tourist attraction has been inundated by floodwater for the first time in its 32-year history, external after the River Foss burst its banks on Sunday night.

Staff at the centre built a barricade to try to keep water back which has meant important artefacts have been saved, owners York Archaeological Trust (YAT) have said.

However, the museum will now be closed for the foreseeable future while water is pumped out of the site and recovery work is carried out.  

Sarah Maltby, from YAT, says: "We're devastated by the scale of the water incursion in what, until now, had been a watertight basement."

Here's a short film that shows you what the Huntington Road area of York looked like before and after the flood water arrived.

Jeremy Cooke
UK Affairs Correspondent

The good news from the skies above Selby and York is that the flood waters are in retreat.

The helicopter crew I'm with has been flying over these drenched communities for days. And they tell me there's a dramatic difference. I can see traffic and trains moving through the city as the famous Minster basks in winter sunshine. But look more closely and you can see some homes and businesses still under water. And the countryside beyond is still a vast expanse of open water.

From up here it's hard to imagine all of this water is not a permanent fixture of the landscape. But of course it will eventually drain away - communities and roads and farmland will reappear.

For the people here, what will remain will be the memories and the images of the great flood of 2015.

In Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, the River Irwell spilled over its banks, swamping hundreds of properties including the Grade I-listed St Mary's Church. 

Vicar Carol Hayden has described the scene in St Mary's today as "utter chaos".

BBC Travel

There are still many road closures in place in York because of the floods. Here's what we know on the main routes so far:

• A19 closed both ways between the A63 junction in Burn and the A645 Weeland Road junction in Eggborough
• A19 is also closed at the Selby Toll Bridge between the Pond Street junction and the Ousegate junction
• In York itself, the A19 Fulford Road closed around the Hospital Fields Road junction
• A659 River Wharfe Bridge in Tadcaster closed in both directions between the Mill Lane junction and the New Street junction
• A1036 Bishopgate Street/Tower Street in York closed around the B1227 junction