Whaley Bridge latest: race to save dam and halt flood continues as emergency crews say they still need two more days

Emergency teams need at least two more days to pump water from a reservoir at risk of bursting its banks and flooding the town below, fire crews said today.

Hundreds of families evacuated from their homes of the Peak District town of Whaley Bridge on Thursday were forced to spend a fifth night away from home as the race-against-time continues.

Emergency crews, who have been working round-the-clock to shore up the Victorian structure which partially collapsed in torrential rain, today said it is now “relatively stable” as the threat of storms appeared to recede.

An RAF Chinook helicopter has been dropping sandbags on the crumbling wall while six rescue boats have been deployed in case the dam bursts.

Emergency workers are pumping water out of the reservoir to ease the pressure on the dam
PA

The reservoir is now just under half of its 300million gallon capcity, but water levels must drop to at least 25 per cent before the evacuees can return home.

Derbyshire deputy chief fire officer Gavin Tomlinson said the operation would continue “for a few days yet”.

He said: “As soon as we get the water level down to a safe level, which is around 25 per cent of the contents of the dam, then the emergency phase is over and then the contractors can look at the repairing of the dam wall.”

Whaley Bridge dam - In pictures

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RAF Wing Commander John Coles, who is in charge of the operation to shore up the wall, added: “I think the assessment is now that actually the dam is relatively stable.

The emergency crews say they need about two more days to pump water from the reservoir
PA

“The military will stand by ready to come back up if required but I think the sense of the moment is very much we’ve got through the worst of it. We were fortunate with the weather.”

Derbyshire chief fire officer Terry McDermott said a seven-day estimate for how long people would be out of their homes was a “worst case scenario”.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was expected to visit the flood-struck Derbyshire town this morning after Friday’s visit by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said the next 36 hours were looking “largely dry” and unlikely to affect the rescue operation.

However, he said a heavy band of rain was expected later Thursday and into Friday: “That may bring a heavier pulse of rain. We will keep an eye on the forecast and issue any warnings that may be relevant.

“I don’t think that will cause any problems as long as the water levels are down by then which I understand if they make good progress they will be near their target.”

Police allowed one resident from each of the 400 properties to return to the evacuation zone for 15-minutes to gather essentials on Saturday.

However, 31 people, including a “small number” who were initially evacuated but have since returned to their homes, remained in 22 properties last night.

Deputy chief constable Rachel Swann told a residents meeting they were not only putting their own lives at risk, but also those of emergency services staff.

She also said the force was using a drone to patrol the streets after one resident claimed she had been burgled.

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