Parts of the UK are flooded by heavy rain as wild weather continues to disrupt New Year's events

LONDON (AP) — Parts of the United Kingdom were flooded Wednesday as heavy rains and powerful winds continued to disrupt New Year’s celebrations.

Several communities in the Manchester area were flooded, with several homes evacuated and cars submerged up to their roofs on roads and in parking lots after nearly a month's worth of rain fell in two days.

A major incident was declared and mountain rescue teams were called in to help firefighters respond to swamped properties and stranded vehicles, Greater Manchester Police said.

“There’s still probably likely to be further flooding across the course of the day," Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said. “We are potentially expecting the flood situation to get worse before it gets better.”

Tom Coulthard said the rain started late Tuesday afternoon and poured all night where he lives in Didsbury, south of Manchester, topping river banks and forcing a hotel to be evacuated before dawn. Roads and highways were closed in the area.

“All the local rivers and water courses have sort of filled up and flooded around the area," said Coulthard, a geography professor at the University of Hull. “That’s really probably a sign of just how our weather is changing, how climate is shifting."

The deluge and gusts derailed New Year's Eve fireworks celebrations, leading to cancellations in Edinburgh and several other cities. Events planned for New Year's Day, including nippy outdoor swims and a bathtub boat race, were scrapped.

London, which was able to launch its massive fireworks display on the River Thames in front of Big Ben, had to postpone the start of its New Year’s Day parade and grounded inflatable floats due to the blustery and soggy conditions.

Cheerleaders and members of bands that marched through central London pulled transparent coverings over their bright costumes to take shelter from rain.

Warnings that indicate flooding is expected were issued at one point to more than 150 communities across the U.K., with most being in northern England. Later in the day, dozens of those warnings had been lifted.

Several trains were canceled because of high water around the tracks and some highways were closed.

With temperatures dropping, there were ice warnings until late Thursday morning for Northern Ireland, parts of North Wales, England and Scotland. And a three-day snow warning was issued for the coming weekend for much of England and Scotland.

A ferry heads out to sea as weather warnings are enforced across parts of the UK, in Dover, England, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)

Rain falls as performers take part in the New Year's Day Parade in central London, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Marching band members from Western Kentucky University walk in the rain during the New Year's Day Parade in central London, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Rain falls as performers prepare to take part in the New Year's Day Parade in central London, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Rain falls as performers prepare to take part in the New Year's Day Parade in central London, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

A performer walks in the rain during the New Year's Day Parade in central London, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's military held a mass funeral in the country's capital on Wednesday as it began to bury dozens of soldiers slain during the United States' weekend operation to capture former President Nicolás Maduro.

Men carried wooden caskets cloaked in the Venezuelan flag past rows of uniformed officers. Singing echoed out from a nearby church in Caracas and music from a military orchestra ceremony echoed over the cemetery, while throngs of family members and soldiers marched behind a row of caskets.

As the caskets were lowered into the ground, gunfire from a military ceremony echoed out over the state-owned graveyard in a low-income neighborhood in the city’s south side. Earlier in the day, families cried and embraced next to the caskets during a wake.

"Thank you for letting them embrace a military career,” Rafael Murillo, a commander in the military, said to families surrounding him.

Before the ceremony, armed National Guard members patrolled some areas while families of the killed soldiers finished paperwork required for the burials.

At least 24 Venezuelan security officers were killed in the dead-of-night U.S. military operation over the weekend to capture Maduro and spirit him to the United States to face drug charges, according to Venezuela's military.

Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab said “dozens” of officers and civilians were killed and that prosecutors would investigate the deaths in what he described as a “war crime.” He didn’t specify if the estimate was specifically referring to Venezuelans.

Cuba’s government on Sunday announced that 32 Cuban military and police officers working in Venezuela had died in the operation, prompting two days of mourning on the Caribbean island.

“Their spilled blood does not cry out for vengeance, but for justice and strength,” the Venezuelan military wrote in an Instagram post on Monday. “It reaffirms our unwavering oath not to rest until we rescue our legitimate President, completely dismantle the terrorist groups operating from abroad, and ensure that events such as these never again sully our sovereign soil.”

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Associated Press reporter Megan Janetsky contributed to this report from Mexico City.

Military personnel stand by the coffins of soldiers killed in the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife during the soldiers' funeral in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives of soldiers killed in the U.S. raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife mourn during the soldiers' funeral in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Cemetery workers lower the casket of a soldier killed in the U.S. raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife into the ground in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A military cap rests on the coffin of Venezuelan soldier Cesar Garcia, who was killed in a U.S. raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, during his wake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Members of the military carry the coffin of Venezuelan soldier Cesar Garcia, killed in a U.S. raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after his wake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Ramona Palma, mother of Venezuelan soldier Cesar Garcia, mourns during his wake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, after Garcia was killed in a U.S. raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Members of the military place the coffin of Venezuelan soldier Cesar Garcia, killed in a U.S. raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, into a hearse after his wake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A military officer comforts Ramona Palma, the mother of Venezuelan soldier Cesar Garcia, who was killed in a U.S. raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after Garcia's wake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)