Face of Nation : Some 1,500 people in Whaley Bridge were evacuated after part of the reservoir’s spillway broke away on Thursday.
Police said the extra evacuations on Saturday were due to the “risk of adverse weather…and the ongoing risk of the Toddbrook Reservoir breaching”.
Water levels at the reservoir have been reduced by half a metre since Thursday. Extra pumps have been installed to speed up the work and contractors are putting concrete between hundreds of bags of ballast placed on the dam wall.
But the risk of collapse remains at “critical level”. An RAF Chinook helicopter put 400 tonnes of sandbags on the affected part of the dam on Friday – adding a further 70 on Saturday. Daniel Greenhalgh from the Canal and River Trust, which owns the reservoir and dam, warned: “We are not out of the woods yet. “The last estimate was that residents could be out of their homes for seven days yet.” Police, the Environment Agency, and the Canal and River Trust, which owns the reservoir, have all said there is a “real risk” the 188-year-old dam could collapse and flood the town.
The Met Office yellow has issued a yellow weather warning for much of northern England and the Midlands, including the area around the reservoir. The Canal and River Trust have defended the maintenance and safety of the structure, which was built in 1831.
Mr Greenhalgh said: “This dam was inspected regularly, by us and an independent engineer. “It needs to be remembered there was a huge amount of rain in a short time and this flooded the area.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited on Friday and promised a “major rebuild” of the dam.
