minutes’ warning – are likely to be given the new six-day estimate at a public meeting being planned for the
makeshift evacuation centre at Chapel-en-le-Frith High School this afternoon.
“Everyone is working their absolute hardest to ensure Whaley Bridge stays safe but we are working against
time and against the elements,” said Anthony McKeown, leader of High Peak Borough Council, which is
helping coordinate the response. “The safety of villagers is the absolute priority, and there will be no one
allowed to return before that safety can be guaranteed.”
He said engineers had briefed officials on Friday that water levels at the 1-billion litre facility needed to drop
by seven metres – and that about a metre was being removed every 24 hours.
The figure was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, which also said
that more than 150 firefighters were working around the clock at the site.
Mr McKeon told The Independent: “The situation is variable because new high power pumps are being put
in place even as we speak which will quicken up the emptying of the reservoir but there is also the changing
weather to take into account.”
He said that authorities were expecting a surge of new people needing to be housed today. “A lot of those
evacuated have perhaps been staying with friends or paying for B&Bs over the weekend, but that may not
be sustainable beyond Sunday, so there is planning for that scenario.”
Asked if he had been impressed by the community’s response, he said: “It’s been fantastic. We’ve had local
pizza shops taking food to the firemen and to the evacuation centre. There is a sense that everyone’s in this
together.”
He spoke shortly after the Met Office issued a yellow severe weather warning for thunderstorms and heavy
showers in the area. Forecaster Craig Snell said that 30-40mm of rain could fall in just a couple of hours on
Sunday. The average monthly rainfall for August is a little shy of 100mm.
“The warning stretches from north Derbyshire to the Great Glen in Scotland,” he said. “We are not saying
that kind of rain will fall everywhere within that 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.”
Some residents were briefly allowed back to their homes yesterday to collect essential belongings. One
person per household was given 15 minutes to go back to their property, with the police stressing they did
so at their own risk.
They were told that should the dam collapse while they were in the evacuated zone, they would hear
emergency vehicles blast their horns three times. Police said the extra evacuations yesterday were due to
the risk of adverse weather and the ongoing risk of the Toddbrook Reservoir breaching.
Meanwhile, the area’s Labour MP Ruth George has written to Boris Johnson following his flying visit to the
area on Friday.
She said: “It’s not just about the emergency situation – Whaley Bridge as a town needs to be able to feel safe
and we need to know what the options are. We’re expecting lots and lots of rain over the next few days so I
can quite understand the authorities not being prepared to say it’s safe until those storms have gone.”