A major incident has been declared due to widespread flooding in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said it had received more than 200 calls by Monday morning.
Crews have attended incidents involving cars stuck in flooding, evacuations of residents from homes and rising water levels.
At 11:48 GMT, firefighters reported that 17 people had been rescued so far.
Judi Beresford, deputy chief fire and rescue officer, said: “Flooding poses a serious risk to lives and property and we urge everyone to take these warnings seriously.
“Our management team and our teams are working tirelessly to help those in need and keep people safe.
“We are working with our partners to reduce the impact of this major incident and ask the public to avoid flooded routes when traveling and never enter floodwater.”
