Face of Nation : Teams are pumping water from Toddbrook Reservoir near Whaley Bridge, after part of a dam ruptured. More than 1,000 homes have been evacuated since the breach on Thursday and there is concern nearby Marple, Stockport, is also at risk of flooding. Police warned Whaley Bridge residents officers would stop allowing them back to their homes because of the risk.
A “handful” of people who have refused to leave their homes have been advised “personally and in no uncertain terms” of the risks they are taking, a Derbyshire Police spokesman said. He emphasised the exclusion area was being treated like the cordon at a crime scene and anyone putting themselves in danger would be “dealt with accordingly”.
On Saturday, people were allowed briefly into their homes to collect pets and essentials, but were warned they would be doing so at their own risk. One resident per household was escorted by police back into their homes for 15 minutes. Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Swann said the risk during those trips “was extraordinarily high” and they had caused problems.
“The vast majority of those who have been allowed back in to Whaley Bridge have been fantastic,” she said. “However, there have been a very small minority of people who have returned to their homes and have not presented back at the road block at which they entered. “These people are putting the lives of officers at risk as further checks have to now be completed to ensure those residents are out of the area safely.”
Some 1,500 people in Whaley Bridge had sought shelter elsewhere after part of the reservoir’s spillway broke away on Thursday. Father Jamie Mcleod, who lives in the town, said he had hardly slept for three days, taking supplies to the emergency workers. He was here at the start of the crisis when he went to check the dam after days of heavy rain.
“When I was over there it started to crack,” he said. “When it got worse I went over to the council and raised the alarm and said, ‘We have to evacuate the village’. “We then went back to the reservoir and, of course, the police then came and procedures were put in place. “At the time I really thought the village was going to go.
“Then it really struck me there is a school at the bottom of the dam and last week that playground was full.” Twenty-four pumps are working and more than a third of the reservoir’s water had been removed since Thursday, lowering the level by three metres (9ft) officials said. But forecasters say 30-40mm (1.2-1.6in) of rain may fall in two hours, later on Sunday. Police said the “risk of adverse weather” was to blame for the most recent evacuations.
