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

Whaley Bridge: Efforts continue to prevent full dam collapse in Derbyshire town

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:

[2 August 2019 20:34 · Zamira Rahim]

"The plan is to try and stop the dam breaking, clearly. And so a huge amount of effort is going into that," Boris Johnson has said, while speaking to families evacuated from their homes in Whaley Bridge.

"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."

Mr Johnson said he thought they had to get the level of the water down about eight metres, although there was some discussion with the surrounding officials about whether this was the exact figure.

He said: "They've got a long way to go. Whatever we do, we'll make sure we rebuild it."

[2 August 2019 20:45 · Zamira Rahim]

A Whaley Bridge resident has told Boris Johnson she is worried locals will be allowed back home and then the dam will burst.

Mr Johnson said: "No, no, we can't do that. That's why there may be a bit more inconvenience and it may go on for a few days because they really have to check this out."

"It's very impressive, there's a huge amount of work going on," he said about the operation.

Another resident asked if he was surprised by the amount of damage. Mr Johnson said: "I was. You can see why, plainly, it's not safe to be in Whaley Bridge."

One police officer said that if the dam had burst it would have been like the Ruhr valley - an apparent reference to the RAF's dambusting raid in the Second World War.

Mr Johnson said: "It would have been like the Ruhr valley. It would have been like the final moment in that film. Well, let's hope it doesn't happen. It looks dodgy but stable."

[2 August 2019 21:00 · Zamira Rahim]

Boris Johnson meets members of the rescue crew at Whaley Bridge 

[2 August 2019 21:15 · Zamira Rahim]

Specialist animal search and rescue teams will be helping police to reunite pets with their owners in Whaley Bridge.

Animal Search UK will be on site on Saturday to help find pets left behind when the evacuation took place amid fears a reservoir dam could collapse.

The organisation said "around a hundred" people had been in touch with concerns over missing pets but could not provide an accurate figure for how many were left in Whaley Bridge.

A spokesman said: "Some people who went to work were unable to return home and get their pets when the evacuation took place."

[2 August 2019 21:30 · Zamira Rahim]

Speaking to reporters near the Toddbrook reservoir, Boris Johnson said the damaged dam will need a "major rebuild" due to a "major, major structural problem".

"I was talking to one of the villagers from Whaley Bridge who said that he remembered something like this happening 50 years ago," he said.

"We've had an exceptional weather event, we must make sure that this dam can cope with it in the future.

"That will mean a major rebuild, clearly."

The prime minister congratulated the emergency services on their response to the incident and said it was "just amazing" to meet with families from the affected communities.

[2 August 2019 21:45 · Zamira Rahim]

Here's some footage of the prime minister's visit to Whaley Bridge this evening.

[2 August 2019 22:00 · Zamira Rahim]

Boris Johnson has advised residents to follow advice from police and stay away from their homes until authorities had deemed it safe to return.

"There is still a substantial risk and that's why I really wanted to congratulate the emergency services, because this is a major problem," Mr Johnson told journalists at the scene.

"If that dam goes you know the potential destruction that can wreak on the whole of the village below, on livelihoods, on families, on homes.

"That's why it's so important that everybody listens to the authorities and make sure they don't go back to their homes until they get the go-ahead."

Some Whaley Bridge residents have refused to leave their homes.