Whaley Bridge dam collapse: Storm warning as engineers race to stop reservoir bursting over village

Work to shore up a damaged dam threatening to burst over a Peak District village is continuing for a third day – as the Met Office warned a further fortnight’s worth of rain could fall in the area in just two hours this weekend.

More than 1,500 residents of Whaley Bridge, in Derbyshire, had to be evacuated on Thursday amid fears that Toddbrook Reservoir – which sits directly above the community – could collapse after two days of extreme rain.

Engineers and firefighters working round the clock have now reduced the water levels at the 280 million galleon facility.

But on Saturday morning – as the risk of a total topple remained officially “critical” – the Met Office issued a severe yellow weather warning for thunderstorms and heavy showers the area.

Meteorologist Craig Snell said that some parts of northern England – including the area around the reservoir – could see 40mm of rain in just a couple of hours on Sunday.

The monthly average for north west England in August is a little shy of 100mm.

“The warning stretches from north Derbyshire to the Great Glen in Scotland, and we are not saying that kind of rain will fall everywhere within that,” Mr Snell said. “But this is where it is most likely. And where it hits, we expect it to be extremely heavy, and for it to bring disruption.”

The news of possible further downpour came as a further blow to evacuated Whaley Bridge residents, many of who were given just five minutes to grab essentials and leave their homes on Thursday afternoon.

“It’s exactly what you don’t want to hear,” said Anja Humpert, a software engineer who lives in Reservoir Road and who has decided to spend the weekend camping with friends in the Peak District.

“It’s pretty scary. I’m trying not to think about it and hoping by the time I go back on Sunday night, it will be okay. If not, I’m not sure what I’ll do.”

The new forecast came after some residents had been told it was safe to go home.

The initial evacuation area has been reduced with people living away from the line of possible flooding now being allowed to return to their properties.

“It’s like a ghost town because not everyone has come back, there are no shops open and no buses,” said retired publican Peter Willis at his house in New Road.

“I’m glad my area is considered safe but, thinking about more rain and what would happen to the village if the dam collapsed – it would be a catastrophe.”

On Saturday morning, environment minister Thérèse Coffey said the situation was still critical and there remained a threat to life.

She told BBC Radio 4: “I think we are still in that critical stage, that’s why we still have the severe flood warning.

“They are at risk if they are in that main town and I’m glad that people have responded. I cannot emphasise enough how patient they need to be.

“Of course this is a distressing and worrying time for them, but if that dam were to breach it would lead to a loss of life if there were people there. There’s no doubt about that.”

Her comments followed a brief visit to the area by prime minister Boris Johnson on Friday night.

After flying over the 180-year-old reservoir, he met displaced residents at Chapel-en-le-Frith High School, which has become both a makeshift evacuation centre and operations hub for Derbyshire Police.

The new Conservative leader said the dam looked “dodgy but stable”, adding: “The plan is to try and stop the dam breaking, clearly. And so a huge amount of effort is going into that.

“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.”

He told residents to be patient and promised that, if the worst happened and the dam broke, they would all be rehoused.

Shortly before his visit, Julie Sharman, chief operating officer for the Canal and River Trust, had told a press conference the water level needs to be reduced by several more metres before being made safe.”

She added: “This is still a very critical situation. Until we are confident we can control that risk, then our position has to be to protect the public safety and limit access because we don’t want to put people at risk.”