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:
Whaley Bridge residents will be restricted in how long they spend in their homes after returning to collect essentials, police said.
"Plans are being put together at the minute, you'll know we have a physical presence around that area where we don't want people to enter," Mr Mehmet said.
"It'll be very controlled. We'll be recording who enters, we'll be restricting that to one person per household and we'll be giving clear instructions on how long residents have got before they report back to us."
He added that it was "difficult" to say when people would be allowed to return to their homes.
BREAKING: Johnson visits evacuees
Prime minister Boris Johnson is now in Whaley Bridge, visiting residents who have been displaced by the dam emergency.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for areas including Whaley Bridge for Sunday.
The warning, which includes thunderstorms, will be in place from 12pm to 10pm.
Boris Johnson is currently in Whaley Bridge, meeting with emergency services staff taking part in the operation.
The prime minister meets with police and rescue crews as the crisis continues
Whaley Bridge residents are now able to return home for a brief period of time, Derbyshire Police has said.
"One person from each property will be able to attend any of the road blocks into Whaley Bridge and speak to officers where they will be signed in and out," a spokesperson said.
"That person will be able to access the property and will be given 15 minutes to do so.
"Any residents that re-enter Whaley Bridge are advised that they will do so at their own risk and the risk remains high. Should the dam fail, or there be a fear of collapse, the emergency service vehicles will sound their horns three times and a loud hailer will also sound.
"Residents should leave the area immediately away from the dam wall and to higher ground."
Derbyshire Police has told Whaley Bridge residents that the crisis could go on for "several days".
"The current situation regarding the period of time in which they will be away from their homes could be several days," a spokesperson said.
Earlier officials confirmed that the water level in the reservoir needed to be "several metres" lower than its current level.
Here is Kem Mehmet speaking at a press conference a little earlier, outlining plans to allow residents to briefly return to their homes.
Mr Johnson has met a number of families affected by the evacuation.
The prime minister told them he had flown over the dam twice and it was "dodgy but stable".
I flew over the dam and it looks pretty scary. I can see the problem."
He assured residents "you will all be properly housed" if the dam burst.
"Let's hope it doesn't happen," he said to a group of police officers.
Boris Johnson spent about half an hour talking to different groups of residents at a school gym and also police officers who helped with the evacuation.
Matthew and Lynn Lingard told him they had left pets - two cockateils and two rabbits - at their home.
"That must be very worrying," the prime minister said.
"Are you going to be able to go back and get them?"
Mr Lingard said they had been told probably not in the next 48 hours.
One resident told Mr Johnson: "We're all like zombies."
Stopping for selfies in the hall, he asked where everyone slept last night and when it became obvious they would have to leave.
He was left shocked when told some people had refused to leave.
"We've got to sort that out," he said.
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