People are being asked to stay away from the area
Firefighters rescued two adults and two children after a burst water main left part of north London under several feet of water.
The broken main on the corner of Hornsey Road and Tollington Road in Islington caused flooding of up to 4ft (1.2m) and created two sinkholes.
Around 50 properties were damaged and several roads remain closed, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said.
Flood levels subsided after the main was shut off at 11:05 BST, Thames Water said.
LFB said it first received calls just after 07:00.
Film showing the extent of the flooding was filmed at The Tollington Arms in Islington
Chris Stangroom, who is from Kenttown, was stuck in traffic due to the “huge” flood.
The 51-year-old, who works in maintenance, said he was on the main road from east London to central London. “There was terrible traffic not moving between 07:10 and 07:30,” he said.
“Finally you got to the front and there were a couple of fire crews and I ran across the road. People were getting back on themselves.
“That’s the worst flood I’ve seen in London while I’ve been here for a few years. Sobell Leisure Center is lower than street level, so it looks like there was a meter or so of water out. It’s devastating to the community, local community.
“On the road it looked like a foot or two of water, and it was everywhere, not just a little bit. There’s an estate on the left hand side of the road and the land there looked like it was under water.
“You could see where the water was coming up; I honestly have no idea how you tackle something like that. It’s so huge and flooded that you’d even have to lower the water levels first to begin excavating that ruptured area.”
Staff at a pub compared the flood to a “tsunami”
A member of staff at the Tollington Arms, a pub located on the affected junction, said the area was quickly covered in water.
“It happened around 7am and within minutes there was a flood like a tsunami,” they said.
“The fire service came down very quickly and we hope together with Thames Water that they will be able to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.”
The floods have been described as “horrendous for the local community”
Ten fire engines and approximately 70 firefighters were dispatched to the scene.
LFB station commander Matt Brown said floodwaters affected Hornsey Road, Tollington Road and Sobell Leisure Centre.
“Multiple road closures are expected to be in place for some time while our partners work to make repairs,” he said.
“Firefighters used flood barriers to divert water and helped two adults and two children to safety. There were no reports of any injuries.”
Water levels dropped rapidly after the main was closed, according to Thames Water
Islington Council said crews had started the clean-up operation and were “working with Thames Water and other agencies to assess repairs to the road”.
He added that the Sobell Leisure Center would remain closed for the rest of today.
A Thames Water spokesman apologized to customers who had “lower than normal pressure or no water today due to a burst pipe”.
“Our engineers were on the scene quickly this morning and stopped the flow of water, which is now draining.
“We are using temporary pumps to restore water pressure levels and most customers should have their water pressure back to normal this afternoon.”
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