Whaley Bridge flooding: Boris Johnson visits evacuated villagers amid fears dam has ’50-50’ chance of collapse
RAF helicopter is dropping off 400 tonnes of aggregate in race to save damaged dam
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson has visited residents evacuated from Whaley Bridge, a Derbyshire town near the Toddbrook Reservoir, which is at risk of being wiped out if the dam collapses.
An RAF helicopter has been drafted in to repair the dam amid fears it could collapse in what police have called an “unprecedented, fast-moving, emergency situation”.
The reservoir contains around 1.3m tonnes of water.
“The plan is to try and stop the dam breaking, clearly. And so a huge amount of effort is going into that,” Mr Johnson said to a group of residents when he visited the town on Friday evening.
“The Chinook’s been over putting in the aggregate and putting in the sandbags to try and stop it bursting. They’re pumping out huge amounts of water.”
“We’ve had an exceptional weather event, we must make sure that this dam can cope with it in the future,” he added.
“That will mean a major rebuild, clearly.”
The reservoir’s spillway partially crumbled on Thursday after heavy rain fell in the area.
The RAF Chibook has dropped around 400 tonnes of sanbags in an effort to repair the dam.
But officials said it was unclear how long the crisis would go on for. The reservoir’s water level has dropped by half a metre, but needs to drop by several more metres to be considered safe.
“We will be putting plans in place for residents to return to their home to pick up very vital things they need along with their animal welfare,” said Kem Mehmet of Derbyshire Police.
“This is very controlled, I must stress that, because this is still life at risk.”
Police have closed railway lines in the Whaley Bridge area over the risk of potential flooding.
The reservoir is on the north-west edge of the Peak District National Park and was built in 1831, according to experts, although the Environment Agency records it as being built in 1840-41.
Meanwhile, clean-up operations are under way across parts of the North West hit by heavy rain. Residents in Poynton in Cheshire were also evacuated on Wednesday night.
If you would like to see how the emergency response unfolded live, please see what was our live coverage below:
An animal rescue team has been deployed to Whaley Bridge to help find pets left behind after residents were evacuated.
Animal Search UK say they will work around the clock to ensure pets are reunited with their owners.
A council spokesperson said the evacuation of more than one thousand people from Whaley Bridge went smoothly and most residents were able to find accommodation with family and friends.
A spokesperson from Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said there were 150 firefighters at the scene from both Derbyshire and around the country.
Ten high volume pump vehicles are being used to try and reduce the level of water in the reservoir.
A group of volunteers from the Sikh Sewa Organisation in Manchester have travelled to the Whaley Bridge area to provide food for evacuated residents.
Mandip Atwa told Capital: "We thought we'd come down and do it as a humanitarian mission."
A nearby resident who ignored calls for evacuation has described the centre of Whaley Bridge as “eerily silent”.
Hanna Sillitoe shared a video of the town's empty streets after more than one thousand residents left their homes.
"It feels eerie here, because in every other sense it's a completely ordinary Friday," the 40-year-old told PA.
"The weather is beautiful, the sun is shining... and then a great big Chinook flies over the house and the stark reality of what's happening upstream hits us again."
Ms Sillitoe said she and other residents were given "conflicting advice", with police advising evacuation but government flood warning information suggesting they were safe.
"We have livestock and horses here," she said. "Our personal decision at present is to stay.
"If the dam goes, my cottage is in the firing line down river - we already had bad floods on Wednesday but the water has since subsided. What will be will be."
Hannah Sillitoe has also shared an image of her garden before and after two days of heavy storms in Derbyshire.
Hannah Sillitoe/ PA
Emergency workers continue pumping water out of the Toddbrook Reservoir.
They are expected to continue shifting water for around two to three days.
Yui Mok/PA
Yui Mok/PA Wire
Derbyshire police said emergency services are also continuing to shore up the dam wall to prevent its collapse.
An RAF Chinook helicopter is dropping 400 tonnes of aggregate around it.
Derbyshire Police is asking residents to stay away from Whaley Bridge.
"The structural integrity of the dam wall is still at a critical level and there is still a substantial threat to life should the dam wall fail," a force spokesperson said.
"Currently around 200 one tonne bags of aggregate have been moved to support the reservoir wall.
There are a further 200 bags left at the scene which will continue to be added throughout the day."
A residents meeting for people affected by the Whaley Bridge evacuation has been called for 5pm at Chapel High School.
Officers are evacuating around 6,000 people from the town, over concerns the dam wall may collapse.
The wall currently holds back 300m gallons of water, which is held in the dam's reservoir.
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