Evacuated residents have spoken of their despair after hundreds of people were told to leave their flood-hit homes.
Two “risk to life” warnings were issued for the River Idle in Retford, Nottinghamshire, on Sunday but have since been downgraded. Dozens of homes were evacuated due to the flood with a rest centre set up at a leisure centre.
Several major roads have also been closed, including the A1 and A617 near Newark and the A52 in Derby.
Almost 40 flood warnings remain in place in or around Nottinghamshire on Monday morning.
During Sunday, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service advised properties in Darrel Road, Swans Quay, Gala Way, Maun Close, Neden Way, New Inn Walk and Thrumpton Close in Retford to evacuate.
Jodi Savastio, who lives in Meden Way, Thrumpton, said she was “anxious” about the damage that could be caused to her property.
She told BBC Radio Nottingham: “In the night I walked down the street and there was a big puddle but it wasn’t anywhere near people’s houses.
“The drains in the road just started filling up. I went out the back and the river had risen that high it wiped the whole garden out.
“The street is an absolute flood zone – it’s like a lake. It’s 6ft deep in our back garden. The water has got into the conservatory and I’d say there’s about four inches of water and another two inches in the house.
“The levels are rising – I’m worried about this. It’s going to take over the house. I’ve lived here three years and never seen anything like this before.”
The Idle, which feeds into the River Trent, reached record levels as water from heavy rainfall in previous days made its way towards Retford.
The Environment Agency has spent much of the past 24 hours pumping water from the Idle into the nearby canal.
The rest centre at Retford Leisure Centre was stood down at about 21:00 BST as most affected residents had made other arrangements.
North Wheatley Primary School, just a few miles away from Retford, has had to rip up flooring and skirting boards.
Head teacher Heather Thomson said it was “heartbreaking” to see the damage but paid tribute to the community.
“The road was already flooded on Friday morning so it was all hands on deck,” she said.
“The community was amazing and we managed to move a lot of equipment into the hall which is a little higher. After that it was a question of just seeing what happened.
“It’s not the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last, so we had a good emergency plan in place.”
Due to its history of flooding, the school’s electrics are fitted into the roof, but Mrs Thomson said she wanted tougher flooring that ran further up the walls.
The school has also launched an online fundraiser, which has so far received more than £1,500 in donations, to pay for replacement equipment while they wait for the result of insurance claims.
Water levels in the town started to fall overnight but the peak is moving towards Newark.
Mansfield MP Ben Bradley, leader of the county council, said flood-hit communities in Nottinghamshire would get help to rebuild.
“There’s a recovery period, there are roads still closed with debris in the road, there is a lot of work still to do.
“We will look at the aftermath of all of that at what lessons could and should have been learned as we always do.
“But for now the priority is supporting residents in the time of need and crisis,” he said.
‘Really devastating’
MP for Bassetlaw, Brendan Clarke-Smith, has been in Worksop and Retford over the weekend.
He estimated “a few hundred” people had been forced to leave their homes.
“It was really devastating,” he said. “I was there in some people’s houses and the water was coming up to your waist.
“It was flooding people’s kitchens, it was in their back gardens and they were desperately trying to get cars parked somewhere else.
“It has just been dreadful.”
He also highlighted a county council hardship fund, which was available to residents and small businesses.
Meanwhile, following strong winds and heavy rainfall in Derbyshire, three “danger to life” warnings that were in Derby were lifted on Sunday morning.
Dozens of people across the county were evacuated, including 20 people at a care home in Duffield, while elsewhere cars were submerged in water.
But East Midlands Railway said it was expecting to run most services as normal after disruption at the weekend.
